Despite Bitcoin mania, the Bank of England is in no rush to ‘go crypto’ June 7, 2021 The Bank of England today published a summary of responses to a discussion paper on digital currency. The central bank said payments made with ‘stablecoin’ should be regulated in the same way as payments made by banks if they become widely used. Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, clarified that “the prospect of [...]
MPC member: Smooth furlough transition could see earlier rate rise May 27, 2021 An interest rate rise could be necessary in the first part of next year if the UK’s transition out of the furlough scheme does not come with a hike in unemployment, a Monetary Policy Committee member said today. Dr. Gertjan Vlieghe said that he expected an interest rate rise to become appropriate “only well into [...]
BoE policymaker urges regulators to probe $10bn Archegos collapse May 26, 2021 A Bank of England’s policymaker has urged that financial regulators today should have a cross-border inquiry into how the collapse of US investment fund Archegos cost banks more than $10bn. Anil Kashyap, a BoE financial policy committee member, also warned that new European Union bank capital rules could have “tragic” outcomes if abused. Archegos collapse [...]
BoE eyes a climate-conscious corporate bond purchase scheme May 21, 2021 The Bank of England (BoE) has tabled plans to make its £20bn of corporate bonds better aligned with government net zero targets today. Set to begin later this year, the bank will not immediately sell off bonds issued by businesses that have high carbon emissions, such as energy and oil firms. “Divestment is a powerful [...]
London houses now average £500,000, as UK-wide prices rise at fastest rate in 14 years May 19, 2021 London houses now average £500,000, as UK-wide prices rise at fastest rate in 14 years
BoE’s Cunliffe sees strong case for UK digital currency May 13, 2021 Bank of England Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe today said he could see good reasons for the central bank to launch its own digital currency. Cunliffe said the Covid crisis had accelerated the shift away from ‘public’ cash issued by the BoE and in favour of ‘private’ money used for online payments. “We may not be [...]
As economies reopen, inflation fears return with a vengeance May 12, 2021 London’s FTSE 100 is on course for its worst day in three weeks this afternoon amid inflation concerns. Inflation has never really been away. It’s been a central theme that has dominated conversations among economists, analysts and bankers over the past few months, and more specifically, the possibility that it is about to take off. [...]
Myth-Busting: Money printing must create inflation May 11, 2021 | City Talk London ranks ninth on the UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index for residential properties. Like in many other countries, property prices in the United Kingdom reached an all-time high in 2020. A global pandemic with sudden mass unemployment should have forced UK citizens to sell their homes, but the furlough policies, stamp duty holidays, and record-low interest rates [...]
BoE does not expect wave of bankruptcies when Covid support measures end May 7, 2021 A tide of bankruptcies among UK firms is not expected when the government pulls its emergency Covid support measures like the furlough scheme later this year, BoE Chief Economist Andy Haldane has said. Many debts racked up recently by companies are spread over long durations “which increases the chances of them being able to be [...]
The recovery is in full swing: UK set for best growth since Second World War May 6, 2021 The economy will grow this year at its fastest pace since the Second World War as Britain stages a vaccine-fuelled recovery. Gross domestic product will rebound by 7.25 per cent in 2021, up from its previous prediction of 5 per cent and the best year of growth since 1941, according to the Bank of England [...]