The Bank of England’s interest rate decision is so interesting, its website just went down August 4, 2016 We know we've been waiting for interest rates to get interesting for a long time, but this is just ridiculous. After the Bank of England's monetary policy committee made the not-so-shock decision to cut interest rates, the Bank's website promptly crashed. Users trying to find more information about the rate cut, or read today's quarterly inflation [...]
Markets poised for crunch interest rate move from Bank of England August 4, 2016 Markets are standing by this morning for the Bank of England to take interest rates to a record low later today – and the nerves are showing. Sterling is falling ahead of the announcement and the FTSE 100 has also eased back as traders assess just how much fuel the Bank of England will throw onto the [...]
Economists call for Bank of England cash handouts to prop up economy August 4, 2016 A group of economists has called on the Bank of England and the government to sanction direct cash handouts – so-called helicopter money – to stimulate the economy in the wake of the EU referendum. In a letter to the Guardian ahead of the Bank of England's crunch meeting today, economists from a number of universities [...]
Former chancellor George Osborne is responsible for turning the minimum wage into a political football August 4, 2016 Last summer, then-chancellor George Osborne unveiled his first post-coalition, true-blue Budget – and with it, a big jump in the minimum wage. This somewhat confusing re-brand saw the minimum wage become the “National Living Wage” (NLW), which Osborne decided would jump from £6.50 an hour to £7.20, and keep rising to £9 in time for the [...]
Over to you, Mark II: City A.M. Shadow MPC votes for interest rate cut August 4, 2016 City economists have called on Mark Carney to pull the trigger and cut interest rates for the first time in seven and a half years today. City A.M.’s Shadow monetary policy committee (MPC) voted five to four in favour of slashing rates to a new all-time low of 0.25 per cent. Futures markets indicate a [...]
A rate cut could wipe £1.4bn off operating profits at the UK’s top banks August 4, 2016 Profits will be decimated at the UK’s top banks if, as widely expected, the Bank of England cuts interest rates to a historic low of 0.25 per cent today. New analysis by the banking practice of consultants Simon-Kucher and Partners predicts that lower rates would wipe £1.4bn off the operating profits at the UK’s top [...]
A Bank of England interest rate cut is almost inevitable: It’s a shame it’ll prove ineffective August 3, 2016 In all likelihood, today will see the most predictable yet most ineffective policy move from the Bank of England in its 19 years of monetary policy independence. We should be concerned, especially on the second point, because at a time when the economy is slowing, the limited ability of the Bank to lend a helping hand should [...]
UK on brink of recession as service sector slammed in July August 3, 2016 The UK could already be in the midst of a recession according to fresh economic data out this morning. The latest purchasing managers' index (PMI) data has revealed the dominant services sector shrunk in the first full month after the EU referendum as the shock of the UK's vote to leave appears to have taken an immediate [...]
Brexit vote reminds us of existing concerns August 3, 2016 The full consequences of the UK's vote to leave the European Union are not yet known. Advocates of a painless Brexit can point to data that refutes the worst fears put about by a panicking Remain campaign. But those looking for evidence to demonstrate that those fears weren't baseless have plenty to go on, too. [...]
Think tank warns of 50-50 chance of post-Brexit recession August 3, 2016 The government will borrow an extra £47 billion between now and the end of the decade as a result of the UK's decision to leave the European Union, economists have warned. The new economic outlook from the National Institute of Economic and Social Reserach (Niesr) also said there was a 50-50 chance of the UK economy [...]