Bank of England
Bank of England Leaves Policy Settings Unchanged
September 13, 2018
A second Bank Rate hike of 25 basis points to 0.75% had been undertaken six weeks ago. The first being of similar size was made last November. The asset purchase program was not changed either, and current limits were reached quite some time ago. Members of the Monetary Policy Committee decided that the current stance […] More
Thursday’s Menu: Central Bank Decisions, Price Data, Hurricane Florence, and a U.S. Offer for a New Round of High Level Trade Talks with China
September 13, 2018
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey lifted its key 0ne-week repo rate by a greater-than-expected 625 basis points to 24.0%. The dollar lost 2.8% against the lira afterward and has also fallen 1.0% against the Russian ruble, 1.6% relative to the South African rand, and 0.6% versus the Mexican peso. The Bank of […] More
Bank of England Tightens a Second Time
August 2, 2018
Following up on an initial interest rate hike last November, the Monetary Policy Committee by unanimous vote raised Britain’s Bank rate from 0.50% to 0.75%, highest since March 2009. The policy governing the Bank of England’s holdings of gilts and corporate bonds was not changed, and a released statement gave the following forward guidance to […] More
Share Prices Falter… British and Czech Central Bank Rates Hiked
August 2, 2018
The tone of tariff threats between the United States and China has intensified. The Turkish lira tumbled to an all-time low beyond the 5 per dollar level yesterday in response to the imposition of U.S. sanctions against the Turkish Minister of Justice. The lira had already been under siege as a result of accelerating inflation […] More
Bank of England
May 10, 2018
The latest Monetary Policy Committee meeting ended without any change in the 0.5% Base Rate or in the Bank of England’s GBP 10 billion of corporate bond purchases and GBP 435 billion ceiling on gilt purchases. The released statement explaining this decision was accompanied by a new quarterly Inflation Report. After the MPC last reviewed […] More
Bank of England
March 22, 2018
The surprising element is the latest monetary policy review was not that the Bank Rate was left at 0.5% or that no change was made to the stock of bank holdings of gilts and corporate bond purchases. It is that the decision to leave the interest rate as is drew dissenting votes from McCafferty and […] More
Trade War Fear Takes Center Stage
March 22, 2018
While Fed Chairman Jay Powell downplayed the risk to growth from trade restraints at least insofar as any influence on U.S. monetary policy is concerned, global financial markets are taking the danger of a trade war very seriously, particularly as President Trump seems poised to slap $50 billion of tariffs on imported Chinese goods. There’s […] More
Bank of England
February 8, 2018
As had been expected, the Monetary Policy Committee by unanimous consent did not change policy settings. The Bank Rate has been 0.50% since being doubled three months ago in a move that reversed the 25-basis point cut in August 2016 shortly after Brexit was approved narrowly by citizen referendum. Ceilings of GBP 435 billion on […] More
Bank of England
December 14, 2017
The Bank of England was not expected to tighten policy at consecutive monthly meetings, and the Monetary Policy Committee was unanimous in voting to retain a 0.50% bank rate and leave asset purchase ceilings as they’ve been. A statement gives a thumbs up to recent progress in the Brexit talks and for Chancellor Hammond’s budget that […] More
Bank of England Lifts Interest Rate as Expected
November 2, 2017
The Bank Rate was doubled to 0.50% because of a “steady erosion of slack” that “has reduced the degree to which it is appropriate for the MPC to accommodate an extended period of inflation above the target.” At 0.50%, the rate is back to the level prevailing from March 2009 until being halved in August […] More
