It’s chilly in the summer air August 14, 2008 It could just be the weather, but it was a decidedly grumpy Bank of England governor who chaired the central bank’s quarterly inflation report yesterday. Looking thin-lipped and put-upon, Mervyn King gave an impassioned explanation of why it was not his or the Bank’s fault that inflation is high, and rising. Not since Pontius Pilot [...]
King predicts more pain as growth dives August 14, 2008 Unemployment and inflation on the rise; growth, houses and sterling on the slide Bank of England (BoE) governor Mervyn King yesterday refuted claims he had lost control of the economy as the central bank issued its darkest assessment of the UK economy since it gained its independence in 1997. In its quarterly inflation report, the [...]
MPC decision on knife edge August 4, 2008 The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) decision on interest rates on Thursday will be a close call according to leading analysts who believe a hike is possible. The nine-member committee, which has left rates on hold at 5 per cent for the past three months, was split three ways in July with the [...]
Recession is certain – City July 28, 2008 Analysts have declared a UK recession inevitable following official data showing that economic growth in the second quarter of this year slumped to its weakest rate in three years. The Office for National Statistics revealed last week that GDP rose by just 0.2 per cent in the three months to June, bringing the annual rate [...]
City rides to the £400m rescue of B&B July 4, 2008 Bradford & Bingley said last night its underwriters and other City institutions will back its £400m fundraising despite a dramatic decision by American private equity firm TPG to walk away from a deal after rating agency Moody’s cut the bank’s credit status. The move comes after Moody’s cut the cash-strapped bank’s rating to Baa1, giving [...]
Crash Course? October 24, 2005 On the anniversary of the 1929 stock market collapse, Laurie Laird asks if we are in danger of repeating that disaster. What year is it? It’s October, and the autumn fashion shows have featured falling hemlines and rising waistbands — the wasp waist is back. On the economics front, the world’s biggest economy has been [...]