The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England has voted to hold interest rates at 3.75%. As expected…
Eight votes for no change, down from nine, and one vote for a 25 basis point hike. A shift in position…
A well-timed update from the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee has stated today that the Iran war is making the UK gilt market particularly vulnerable. In addition to the dim view bond traders take of the Reeves rollercoaster…
The committee says the war in general represents a “substantial negative supply shock” to the global economy: “The conflict has made the global environment materially more unpredictable and followed a period in which global risks were already elevated. This increases the possibility of large, frequent and potentially overlapping shocks and periods of intense volatility.” In case you supposed otherwise…
It went further to note that the most leveraged hedge funds in UK gilts also hold large positions in US Treasuries and European government bonds in high-risk concentrations: “Cross-market positions, in addition to firms pursuing similar strategies, increased the risk of disorderly unwinds causing jumps to illiquidity in core UK markets, including through cross-border spillovers.” The BoE also warns of large gilt selloffs as share prices drop…
Buried at the end the committee says it wants to reduce its legally required minimum meetings from four to three per year. Feeling gilty…
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England has voted to hold interest rates at 3.75%. A unanimous vote…
The Bank of England has quietly shelved its dedicated committee of experts – created to select historical characters for inclusion on banknotes – in order to replace Winston Churchill and Alan Turing with squirrels. Mealy-mouthed excuses include that animals are easier to forge and the public interest in nature ’emerged’ in consultation…
In 2013 the BoE under Carney founded a five-strong Banknote Character Advisory Committee to manage the selection of individuals to appear on new notes. The terms of reference for the committee say the “Bank seeks to celebrate individuals that have shaped British thought, innovation, leadership, values and society. The Bank represents on its notes a person or small group of individuals whose accomplishments or contributions have been recognised widely at the time, or judged subsequently to have been of lasting benefit to the United Kingdom and, in some cases, beyond.” That doesn’t include badgers…
The advisory committee has appeared in BoE annual reports until 2021 and the Treasury claimed it was still in operation as recently as November last year. The membership: “The standing members of the Committee shall comprise the Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy (Chair), the Chief Cashier and at least three external members, as invited by the Governor. Internal members are ex officio; external members shall serve a five year term, renewable for a further five years.” There has been no public notice of the committee’s abolition – it did not appear in the Bank’s latest annual report…
The Bank of England has quietly buried the purpose of its dedicated committee by opening a consultation and ditching historical characters from banknotes. Too lazy to put up with whiny complaints from commentators – no one complains about squirrels because they aren’t powerful symbols…
Along with its interest rate decision the Bank of England has downgraded its growth projections for the UK. Unemployment resulting from tax hikes and the minimum wage hike are to blame…
Growth forecasts are down this year to 0.9% from 1.2% in November and 1.5% in 2027 compared to 1.6% in November. Downgrades all round…
The Bank said employment growth is “zero… due to cost pressures from higher employer national insurance contributions and the national living wage.” What more damage will Reeves and Torsten Bell be able to inflict if they make it to the next Budget?
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England has voted to hold interest rates at 3.75%. A majority of 5–4 hold to cut. Close…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”