Bank of England

Hoisted…

Birmingham University Conservative Future (Free subscription) | 10 hours ago

Bank of England Independence and the ‘Golden Rule’ were once the coping stones of New Labour’s economic competence. A decade on, they’re still doing their job; resisting inflation and curbing public debt. Unfortunately for the government which laid them, these solid foundations have become immovable political obstacles. The Bank was given independence over interest rates in [...]

Bank of England faces further pressure

Loan & Finance Blog (Free subscription) | 26/08/2008

According to a recent report the Bank of England is facing increased pressure in relation to interest rate movements with a number of industry officials claiming that the bank urgently needs to cut the base interest rate because the economy is sliding into recession. According to officials from the Office for National Statistics growth has [...]

MPC dove Blancheflower to vote for rate cut

The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 50 minutes ago

Two million Britons may be out of work by Christmas and big cuts in interest rates are needed now to stop the economy heading into a deep and prolonged slump, claims Bank of England policymaker David Blanchflower.

Blanchflower says big cuts in rates needed

Reuters UK (Free subscription) | 1 hour ago

LONDON (Reuters) - Two million people may be out of work by Christmas and big cuts in interest rates are needed now to stop the economy heading into a deep and prolonged slump, Bank of England policymaker David Blanchflower told Reuters.

What we need Mr Bean, is more debate and less finger crossing

The Herald (Free subscription) | 13 hours ago

Alf Young on Thursday: For a man who openly admits “we have our fingers crossed”, the Bank of England’s new deputy governor with responsibility for monetary policy, is showing a tendency to spout some dangerously mixed messages about the economic challenges we currently face.

Where there should be outrage, there is silence

The UK Housing Bubble (Free subscription) | yesterday

This chart should produce howls of outrage. It compares the retail price index (RPI) to the consumer price index (CPI) since 1997, when the Bank of England gained its independence. The chart illustrates how the RPI measure of inflation has outstripped the CPI counterpart. Today, the RPI is 13 percent higher than the CPI compared to 1997. Why should this be? After all, both measures are supposed to...

Traders price in rate cut to head off UK recession

The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 16 hours ago

The majority of financial experts are now betting that the Bank of England will have to cut interest rates in the near future as it tries to avoid the onset of a deep recession in the UK.

There Are Doors (9)

Earth and other unlikely worlds (Free subscription) | yesterday

Here’s the place where she met her nemesis on a snowy night in February 1939, after the debacle at the Bank of England. The two men bursting in while she and Kurt were loading the barge. Brave, beautiful, blond Kurt running at them with a boathook and Detective Sergeant Flowers shooting Kurt with his service revolver and Kurt’s brains and blood jumping from his shattered head. And Mr Carlyle, that...

Global financial downturn to drag on

Turkish daily news (Free subscription) | 26/08/2008

The Bank of England's new deputy governor warned yesterday that the global financial slowdown could "drag on for some considerable time".Charles Bean said that every time the

U.K. Firms May Be Slow to Pass on Higher Costs

Real Time Economics (Free subscription) | 26/08/2008

Companies may be slow to pass on cost increases when the economy is slowing, a Bank of England paper said. In a situation that seems to parallel the current economic conditions facing the U.K., the paper found that price markups — the process of companies raising prices — is procyclical. That’s to say, when the economy [...]

Rates - Going up or Down?

All About Loans Weblog (Free subscription) | 26/08/2008

With the Bank of England’s decision to cut the base rate by a further quarter point, most consumers would be hoping that loan rates would be showing a drop. Sadly that isn’t the case. According to comparison site, Moneyfacts, 14 lenders increased their loan rates last month, with Tesco and the AA raising them twice. Whilst personal [...]

Sterling tumbles as markets eye interest rate cuts

The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 26/08/2008

The pound fell further today as the market reopened after the bank holiday as foreign-exchange traders intensified bets that the Bank of England is likely to be the only major central bank to cut interest rates by the end of the year.

Interest rates stuck at 5% for August

Secured Loans (Free subscription) | 26/08/2008

The base rate has been left at 5% for August, with the Bank of England announcing that there will be no change for the month following last week's Monetary Policy Committee meeting, where members once again battled to weigh up the risks of the slowing economy with the risks of ...

MR BEAN GOES BACK TO THE '70'S!

Tangled Blog (Free subscription) | 26/08/2008

Mr Bean. the new Deputy Governor of the Bank of England has warned that the financial situation was at least as bad as that of the 1970s. As the Prime Minister returns to his desk today to work on an economic plan that will form the centrepiece of his attempt at an autumn political fightback, Charles Bean said that the slowdown may "drag on for some considerable time" and that social problems could...

• Economy 'as bad as the Seventies' - The Independent

BoE's Bean warns global slowdown will "drag on"

Reuters UK (Free subscription) | 26/08/2008

LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Deputy Governor Charles Bean warned on Monday that the global economic slowdown is likely to "drag on for some considerable time".