Bank of England holds interest rates and overhauls bond sale programme September 17, 2026 The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at a sixth consecutive meeting, but warned that they were likely to rise at future meetings unless the threat to energy markets posed by the Iran war begins to ease. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted six to three to leave rates unchanged, in [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 soars after Bank of England holds interest rates September 17, 2026 Welcome back to City AM‘s FTSE 100 liveblog. Investors responded positively to the Bank of England’s widely tipped decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.75 per cent on Thursday. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said that volatile energy prices caused by the Iran war will push inflation up further than its current 3.1 [...]
How do central bankers decide interest rates when inflation is so unpredictable? September 16, 2026 The Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Bank of Japan all confront the same question this week: how do you set interest rates when inflation is being buffeted by forces well beyond your control? Writes Helen Thomas Three of the world’s most important central banks meet this week, with the Federal Reserve, Bank of England [...]
Bank of England under pressure to raise interest rates or risk ‘losing credibility’ September 16, 2026 The Bank of England is facing mounting pressure to raise interest rates on Thursday amid a global bond market rout fuelled by concerns over runaway government borrowing and sticky inflation. Investors told Threadneedle Street it was “essential” to rein in prices before the energy shock triggered by the Iran war spreads through the economy and [...]
Andrew Bailey: Latest AI advances are an ‘OMG moment’ for cyber crime September 15, 2026 The latest advances in frontier AI are an “OMG moment” and countries need to “arm themselves”, Andrew Bailey has said, as he highlighted the new threat of financial crime posed by the technology. Speaking at the annual City of London Police Authority Board dinner at the Merchant Taylor’s Hall on Monday, the Bank of England [...]
Bank of England poised to slow bond sale programme September 14, 2026 The Bank of England is likely to slow its unusual approach to offloading gilts after conceding it had pushed up borrowing costs at a time when government bond yields have hit near-record highs, economists have predicted. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will vote to reduce the pace of its ‘quantitative tightening’ programme from £70bn to [...]
Four interest rate hikes loom despite surprise economic growth September 11, 2026 The Bank of England is expected to hike interest rates as many as four times within the next year, City figures have said, after the economy delivered surprise growth in July. The central bank is expected to be buoyed by this morning’s GDP figures, which saw the UK economy grow by 0.4 per cent in [...]
Oil hits $100 a barrel as Iran war escalates September 9, 2026 Oil prices hit $100 per barrel for the first time since July on Wednesday morning as new strikes in the Middle East sparked fresh concerns for global oil supplies. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – jumped more than two per cent, hitting $100 per barrel after making consistent gains from the [...]
Andrew Bailey: Populism a threat to global economy September 4, 2026 The groundswell of populist politics threatens to undermine central banks’ independence and hamper their ability to protect the long-term interests of the global economy, Andrew Bailey has warned. In a speech in London, the Bank of England governor accused populist parties of trying to exert increasing levels of influence over monetary authorities the world over, [...]
Andrew Bailey warns markets are not ready for the rise (or fall) of AI August 31, 2026 The governor of the Bank of England and chair of the Financial Stability Board, Andrew Bailey, has warned that countries are unprepared for the consequences of advanced AI and that the wider economy remains vulnerable to a dramatic market correction triggered by a potential slump in AI and tech stocks. Ahead of a G20 meeting [...]