Super Thursday: Dissent in the ranks as Bank of England monetary policy committee votes 8-1 to hold interest rates August 6, 2015 UK policy makers took a step toward raising interest rates for the first time in eight years today as the Bank of England’s committee of rate-setters broke their unanimity on voting to keep borrowing costs at record lows. The pound fell 0.49 per cent against the dollar to 1.5526 on the news, sliding 0.24 [...]
Bank of England Super Thursday: Here’s everything you need to know August 5, 2015 Economists, analysts and investors across the City are busily preparing for Super Thursday. Rather than having a fortnight to digest various releases from the Bank of England, they'll be hit with the central bank's interest rate decision, minutes of the meeting and new economic forecasts all at once. The Bank ended what governor Mark Carney [...]
Bank of England’s Ian McCafferty says interest rates could rise this year “data dependent” August 5, 2015 The Bank of England's Ian McCafferty reportedly said interest rates could rise before the end of this year depending on the strength of future economic data. "Financial markets still believe that an interest rate rise is unlikely until May or June next year, and economists suggest February or March," The Courier said he told the Dundee [...]
Bank of England hawks to vote for interest rate hike on Super Thursday August 2, 2015 The Bank of England will for the first time release a string of reports alongside its monthly monetary policy decision this week. And at least two hawks are expected to break rank and vote in favour of an interest rate hike. The so-called Super Thursday meeting will see the central bank publish its monthly decision [...]
Why the Bank of England should follow the Fed and raise interest rates this year July 30, 2015 GDP figures out earlier this week confirmed that the UK economy is growing well. In five of the past six quarters, UK GDP has risen by 0.7 per cent or more. The annualised growth rate over this period has been 3 per cent. The services sector has been the main engine of growth. Retail, distribution [...]
S&P: Interest rate rise by the Bank of England won’t send property prices plummeting July 30, 2015 Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) said today that an interest rate rise this year could slow house price growth, however a number of structural factors will support demand and prevent an outright decline. "The issue is whether the rise in interest rates that we expect to start in late 2015 could eventually bring [...]
Bank of England mortgage lending figures show a rush to remortgage as interest rate hike comes closer July 30, 2015 The mortgage market is hotting up, according to new figures, as rock bottom rates and the prospect of an interest rate rise fuel extra home buying and remortgaging. Net lending secured on dwellings jumped to £2.6bn in June, from £2.4bn in May, the highest figure since July 2008, the Bank of England said today. The [...]
Bank of England’s Andy Haldane says “no rush” to hike interest rates July 29, 2015 The Bank of England's chief economist Andy Haldane has said that there's "no rush" to raise interest rates, as some members of the monetary policy committee appear to be gearing up to vote for a rise next month. Haldane argued that the economy is still healing from the financial crisis, inflation remains extremely low and global risks [...]
Pound jumps as UK economy grows 0.7 per cent in the second quarter July 29, 2015 The pound jumped against the dollar as data showed Britain's economic recovery picked up pace in the second quarter of this year. Read more: These charts show just how dependent UK growth is on London The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the economy grew by 0.7 per cent between April and June, from 0.4 per [...]
UK consumer confidence hits the high notes as interest rate rise looms July 28, 2015 British shoppers are at their most confident since September, new survey figures reveal this morning. The consumer confidence index published by YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) climbed to a score of 114 in July. Consumers are most optimistic on their job security, business activity and house values. However, there has [...]