Football banter is back at the Bank of England May 14, 2014 FINALLY, Mark Carney has realised what we want from our esteemed Bank governors – sporting banter, natch. The Bank of England head took us all back to the days of Mervyn’s sporting analogies, in yesterday’s quarterly inflation report. “Securing the recovery is like making it through the qualifying rounds of the World Cup,” he told [...]
The real world looks much less rosy than the Bank of England’s forecasts May 14, 2014 YESTERDAY’S Inflation Report presented a benign view of UK economic prospects. Economic growth is expected to continue at around 3 per cent or above, double the rate over the recovery so far. Yet sufficient spare capacity remains to prevent a rise in inflation. So interest rates can rise gradually and that can wait until next [...]
What could shock the Bank of England into hiking rates this year? May 14, 2014 The Bank of England's latest inflation report is out today – it's largely a steady-as-she-goes update from Threadneedle Street, but nestled at the back the Bank presents a potential upset to their forecast, which could prompt a rate hike sooner than markets expect. The Bank’s outgoing deputy governor, Charles Bean, said that any estimate [...]
Bank of England sees economy growing at 3.4pc this year May 14, 2014 The economists at Threadneedle Street have been busy. We've goth a host of update forecasts from the Bank of England, with the central bank suggesting that the UK economy is now performing strongly. The BoE sees 3.4 per cent GDP growth in 2014, and 2.9 per cent in 2015. In February, BoE forecasts suggseted that [...]
Bank of England warns too big to fail is not fixed May 13, 2014 BANKS face a new round of capital raising and restructuring to make sure key functions like payments systems are protected in a future bank collapse, a top Bank of England executive warned yesterday. Although banks have built big capital buffers since the financial crisis, deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe warned that the so-called too big [...]
Bank of England holds policy – but analysts still expect Carney to pull rate hike trigger first May 8, 2014 The members of the Bank of England's interest-rate setting committee have voted to hold policy. Interest rates will stay put at 0.5 per cent, while asset purchases will be maintained at current levels. Despite the (widely expected) inaction from the Monetary Policy Commitee, there are rumblings that the Bank of England could now be first [...]
Bank of England inaction threatens house price bubble, warns analyst May 8, 2014 April saw a rare fall in house prices, according to the latest data from Halifax. They dropped by 0.2 per cent, a small monthly decline. But on an annual basis, UK house prices are now up by 8.5 per cent in the three months to April. House prices are driven by supply and demand, and [...]
Bank of England might finally stop destroying historical records April 30, 2014 Some small steps towards transparency at the Bank of England. The central bank has appointed Governor Kevin Warsh to undertake a review of the Bank's transcripts policy. At present, recordings of the Bank of England's meetings are routinely destroyed once minutes have been finalised. Warsh, a former member of the Board of Governors of the [...]
Bank of England minutes reveal committee divided on economic slack April 23, 2014 The minutes of the Bank of England's most recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting show no signs of tightening on the horizon. Members of the central bank's interest-rate setting committee voted unanimously to hold policy. With nominal wage growth picking up in recent months, the members determined that a "sustainable rise in real wages and [...]
Bank of England sits on its hands as rates held at historic lows April 10, 2014 No change from the boffins over at Threadneedle Street. The Bank of England's interest-rate setting committee has, as widely expected, elected to hold both interest rates and quantitative easing this month. That sees rates at their historic lows of 0.5 per cent, and asset purchases at £375bn in April. Ben Southwood, head of policy at [...]