Bank of England holds interest rate at 0.75 per cent December 19, 2019 The Bank of England has decided to hold interest rates at 0.75 per cent in its last meeting of 2019 as it warned there was little chance of significant economic growth this quarter. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-2 in favour of maintaining the rate, as it did at its previous meeting in [...]
Facebook Libra’s 2020 launch plan unclear, says board member December 19, 2019 Facebook’s Libra project does not have a solid strategy for how or where it will be introduced next year, a member of the board overseeing the controversial cyptocurreny’s launch has said. Libra is still on track to launch next year, but the scope of the roll out is dependent on progress in talks with regulators, [...]
Why the Bank of England should hold interest rates December 18, 2019 The Bank of England should vote to hold interest rates at their current level until there is more clarity over the economy’s direction in the New Year, some of the City’s top economists have argued. Ahead of the Bank’s key meeting tomorrow, City A.M.’s shadow monetary policy committee has taken a wait-and-see approach by overwhelmingly [...]
Co-op owners sound out potential buyers December 18, 2019 The hedge fund owners of the Co-op Bank are reportedly on the hunt for potential buyers. Two-and-a-half years after the lender was rescued from collapse, the US investors which took control of the Co-op have started holding talks with possible bidders, according to Sky News. The broadcaster cited sources as saying that several British retail [...]
Bank of England to set up climate change stress tests December 18, 2019 The UK’s top banks and insurers may be tested together in 2021 for the financial impact of climate change, according to a new Bank of England paper. The tests would include three different scenarios and would assess how firms would deal with more frequent weather events and mass sell-offs of “brown assets” – those considered [...]
Will the Bank of England cut interest rates? December 18, 2019 UK inflation data came out today, leaving economists to ponder whether the Bank of England would consider cutting or raising interest rates before the end of 2019 or even early into 2020. The Consumer Prices Index stood at 1.5 per cent in November, flat on October and half a per cent below the Bank of [...]
UK inflation rate holds steady at 1.5 per cent December 18, 2019 UK inflation remained steady at 1.5 per cent in November, marking no change from October, according to official data released today. While the figure is slightly higher than expectations of 1.4 per cent, it remains below the Bank of England’s target of two per cent. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) saw its biggest contributions from [...]
Is the “Santa Rally” real? December 18, 2019 Investors found their festive spirits dampened at the end of 2018. With concerns over the health of the global economy looming large, global stocks fell 13.7 per cent in the final quarter of the year, according to the MSCI World Index. It wasn’t a merry advent period, indeed it was the worst December for markets [...]
BoE: $5bn leaves Hong Kong funds amid protests December 17, 2019 Political unrest in Hong Kong has triggered traders to pull as much as $5bn (£3.8bn) of capital from the region since April, according to the Bank of England (BoE). The outflows account for nearly 1.25 per cent of Hong Kong’s GDP and began when protests broke out following the proposal of a controversial extradition bill [...]
Bank of England governor vacancy gets 650 applications on Linkedin December 17, 2019 The role of the governor of the Bank of England has piqued the interest of Linkedin users as one of the most viewed jobs in 2019. Current incumbent Mark Carney is leaving the role on 31 January, with big names like Financial Conduct Authority boss Andrew Bailey and City grandee Helena Morrissey in the running [...]