Bank of England puts and end to “governors’ eyebrows and fireside chats” in transparency drive February 26, 2015 Transparency is to be the keyword for the Bank of England’s dealings with the City. The Bank is on a mission to overhaul how it interacts with the City in the wake of its embroilment in the forex scandal. In a speech this evening, Minouche Shafik, the BoE’s deputy governor for markets and banking will [...]
Could the Bank of England one day embrace Bitcoin? February 25, 2015 Cryptocurrency bitcoin, in combination with mobile technology, could revolutionise the way we make purchases, which has prompted the Bank of England to conduct more research into the area. The bank said it could defunct banks' roles as middle men by allowing secure payments to be made directly. "This has potentially profound implications for a financial [...]
Mark Carney silent on Bank of England’s mystery dove as he predicts interest rate hikes February 24, 2015 Interest rates will rise gradually over the next two years, Mark Carney told MPs yesterday, playing down the chance of another rate cut. One member of the monetary policy committee (MPC) is tempted to vote for a rate cut, according to the minutes of its last meeting. However, Bank of England governor Carney refused to [...]
Bank of England minutes: MPC unanimously voted to hold interest rates February 18, 2015 The Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) voted unanimously to hold the interest rate at 0.5 per cent when it met last, despite hints it could be lowered in the next few months. Minutes of the MPC's meeting in early February showed the committee's hawks – Martin Weale and Ian McCafferty, who have both [...]
Inflation worries shaped Bank of England interest rate vote February 15, 2015 Worries about the UK’s economy entering into a deflationary spiral stayed the hand of two Bank of England board members who had wanted an early interest rate rise. Martin Weale, an inflation hawk and independent member of the monetary policy committee, wrote an article for the Observer, in which eh explained the reasons for his [...]
From HSBC and Greece to Opec and the Bank of England: What got us talking this week February 13, 2015 There was really only one story this week. HSBC was at the centre of a scandal that only progressed along with the week. By Friday it was facing a grilling from one select committee and an investigation by another, while the possibility of police involvement was also hanging in the air. There was even [...]
Bank of England’s Mark Carney: Interest rate cut is possible as UK heads toward deflation February 12, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney revealed yesterday that interest rates could drop even further below their historic low of 0.5 per cent, as the collapse in global oil prices drags Britain towards deflation. In a mandatory letter to chancellor George Osborne, Carney said that if “global activity continues to disappoint, or if low inflation [...]
Bank of England inflation report: UK inflation rate could slide into negative February 12, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned UK inflation could slip into negative territory this spring, but he also upgraded the economy's growth forecasts on the belief it's most likely to be benign. Threadneedle Street warned it was "more likely than not that headline inflation would turn negative this year". In such a scenario, it would [...]
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney: “No room for complacency” in global banking reform February 9, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has cautioned against slowing the pace of global banking reforms, saying the financial system is more resilient than during the financial crisis, but there's still "no room for complacency". Speaking in his role as chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a body which monitors the global financial system, [...]
Bank of England holds interest rates at record low of 0.5 per cent and keeps £375bn quantitative easing programme in February February 5, 2015 There are no surprises from the Bank of England, again. The central bank held its benchmark interest rate a record low of 0.5 per cent for the 71st month in a row. It also kept its quantitative easing programme steady at £375bn at the monetary policy committee's (MPC) February meeting. While the UK economy has [...]