Government’s analysis of Brexit no help to MPs, Treasury committee finds December 11, 2018 The government’s own analysis of Brexit is effectively meaningless as it doesn’t scrutinise the implications of the backstop or the most likely trade deal outcomes, according to MPs. The Treasury Select Committee claim analysis of the withdrawal agreement and political declaration secured by Theresa May last month should not be used by MPs to help [...]
Royal London to appoint Standard Life Aberdeen board member Kevin Parry as chairman December 10, 2018 Royal London will appoint Standard Life Aberdeen board member Kevin Parry as its chairman this week. The company is set to announce that Parry will replace former Bank of England deputy governor Rupert Pennant-Rea, who has been in the role for five years, Sky News reported. The appointment will see Parry step down from his role [...]
Just Group soars on favourable new Bank capital rules December 10, 2018 Shares in pensions provider Just Group rose as much as 27 per cent this morning, following the release of the Bank of England’s final decision on equity release mortgages (ERMs), which the company welcomed as offering “greater clarity” for its future operations. Both Just and Barclays analysts said new rules released by the Bank’s Prudential [...]
Editor’s Notes: The Bank of England must protect its independence December 7, 2018 Former chair of the US Federal Reserve Janet Yellen once said “the principle that a central bank should be independent from the government is unassailable.” Donald Trump probably thinks unassailable means you can’t sell it, but even if he understood Yellan’s point he seems determined to ignore it. His broadsides against Fed policy are quite [...]
Bank of England slammed over secret Venezuelan gold summit December 6, 2018 The Bank of England (BoE) has come under fire following reports of a clandestine meeting with senior representatives of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. The BoE is due to meet high-ranking Venezuelan officials in London tomorrow to discuss the return of gold worth $550m stored in the bank’s vaults, according to sources. Today it emerged MP [...]
CBI: May must secure support for Brexit deal for UK economy to post moderate growth December 6, 2018 The UK economy will have a tough time posting even moderate growth next year without an orderly Brexit, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) warned today. The CBI’s forecast of 1.3 per cent growth in 2018, 1.4 per cent in 2019 and 1.6 per cent in 2020, a slightly lower set of predictions than the [...]
Philip Hammond confirms he will borrow more and look at tax changes in ‘no deal’ December 5, 2018 Philip Hammond has confirmed the government would be forced to borrow billions more and consider tax changes to counter the economic impact of no deal. Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee on Wednesday, the Chancellor said the onus would be on the government to keep blood in the veins of the economy as the Bank of [...]
Bank of England delays cyber stress test as it focuses on Brexit December 5, 2018 The Bank of England (BoE) will delay work on a cyber stress test for banks as it focuses on Brexit preparations, according to minutes published today. The BoE’s financial policy committee (FPC) said it will put off a scheme to test how banks react to cyber attacks, which was due to launch early next year. [...]
Three simple answers to the UK’s productivity puzzle December 5, 2018 With political and policy attention focused almost entirely on one complex puzzle, it is easy to forget that there are others requiring urgent attention. Today's Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) select committee report is a timely reminder that government action on the productivity puzzle is long overdue. Britain’s growth in productivity lags behind our [...]
From Northern Rock to lunch tables, no one is immune from the herd mentality December 5, 2018 The Bank of England and Federal Reserve held a two-day conference last week in London on big data and machine learning. All very interesting stuff. There was an intriguing vignette as we emerged from the conference room for the frugal lunch on the first day. Straight ahead was a table with sandwiches, fruit and the like. [...]