When words matter more than numbers at the Bank of England May 5, 2025 City analysts have pencilled in their predictions for Thursday. Here’s how almost all of them likely read. Interest rates will be cut to 4.25 per cent, the Bank of England’s inflation forecast for this year will exceed its two per cent target and President Trump’s tariffs will be highlighted as a detriment to UK growth. [...]
Mortgage borrowing surges ahead of stamp duty changes May 1, 2025 Net borrowing or mortgages spiked by £9.7bn in March as house buyers looked to clinch deals before higher stamp duty taxes came into effect. Net borrowing levels exceeded £13bn, according to the Bank of England, as the rise compared to February beat market forecasts of £3.2bn. EY ITEM Club’s Matt Swannell said the surge in [...]
Andrew Bailey: Tariffs could push inflation down April 24, 2025 Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has suggested that President Trump’s tariffs will have a disinflationary effect on UK prices unless more retaliatory measures kick into effect. In an interview with CNBC, Bailey said tariffs would slow down UK growth whatever happens but added he would be “encouraged” by a UK trade deal with the [...]
If the ONS can’t measure productivity, how are we meant to improve it? April 23, 2025 The ONS's shortcomings are far from trivial, its bad maths is holding back the UK economy, writes Paul Ormerod.
Firms scramble to ‘protect bottom line’ amid low growth April 16, 2025 Firms across the UK are putting in “hard work” to limit cost pressures and maintain profits amid low growth, one of the country’s biggest banks has said. Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s aggressive tax hikes at her last Autumn Budget have piled higher employment costs on businesses large and small, threatening to kill off some companies by [...]
Bank of England’s postponement of bond sale is a ‘precaution’ April 10, 2025 The Bank of England’s decision to postpone the sale of long-dated bonds to after June following market volatility was a “precaution”, according to deputy governor Sarah Breeden. President Donald Trump’s tariffs sent markets around the world into a state of panic as 30-year gilt yields surged to its highest level since 1998, pushing up borrowing [...]
Bank of England should be ‘more careful’ about rate cuts, say deputy governor April 10, 2025 A Bank of England rate-setter has said that policymakers need to be “more careful” about cutting rates after years of high inflation, adding that it was “too soon to say” whether President Trump’s tariffs will weigh on price growth in the UK. Sarah Breeden became the second official since Trump’s Rose Garden speech to take [...]
Four interest rate cuts this year pencilled in by markets April 7, 2025 Markets are betting that the Bank of England will make up to four interest rate cuts this year, double what had been predicted in late March. President Trump’s tariffs are set to drag UK growth back by up to one percentage point, according to various forecasters, while their impacts on inflation remain ambiguous, leading investors [...]
MPC member: Trump tariffs won’t push UK inflation higher March 27, 2025 Interest rate-setter Swati Dhingra has suggested that President Donald Trump’s tariffs are unlikely to move UK inflation measures despite taking a toll on growth. The Bank of England held its interest rates at 4.5 per cent last week. External member Dhingra voted alone in favour of a cut in an 8-1 decision. Speaking at [...]
Rate-setter calls on Bank of England to adopt ‘activist’ approach to rates March 6, 2025 The Bank of England should adopt a more activist approach to setting interest rates in order to deal with the “substantial volatility” affecting geopolitics and financial markets, a rate-setter has said. Catherine Mann, an external member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), argued that rate-setters should be more willing to vote for more radical [...]