Bank of England
Bank of England Makes No Policy Change
January 30, 2020
The Bank of England’s policy rate has been 0.75% since a pair of 25-basis point hikes in November 2017 and August 2018. There were no changes made in 2019 or at this week’s first meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee this week. There were dissenting votes, however, but Saunders and Haskel, who have favored a […] More
Coronavirus Outbreak Tops Busy List of Developments for Markets to Process
January 30, 2020
Several central banks held their first policy reviews of 2020. Those in Chile and Great Britain left their interest rate structures unchanged at 1.75% and 0.75%, respectively. The National Bank of Ukraine implemented its sixth rate cut in nine months, a 150-basis point reduction to 11.0%. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka engineered its third […] More
Thursday Rundown of Overnight News, Data Reports, and Central Bank Decisions
December 19, 2019
President Trump has been impeached by a House of Representatives partisan vote of 229-197. He will get a trial in the senate. Market movements today are mostly unremarkable. Sovereign debt yields are up. Equities are down a bit in Europe but started on an up note in the United States. New Zealand’s stock market rallied […] More
Bank of England Policy Left As Is But Reveals a Dovish Sign
November 7, 2019
Sterling’s slide reflects one of the days biggest surprises. While the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee left unchanged existing stocks of corporate bond purchases, U.K. gilt purchases, and the 0.75% bank rate, the vote by the 9-person committee on the interest rate level drew dissents favoring a cut by Michael Saunders and Jonathan Haskel. […] More
Risk Back On
November 7, 2019
A claim was made by a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman that the U.S. and China have agreed to a phased and mutual reduction of trade deficits but only contingent on a trade deal being done. Stock markets are up 0.7% in Germany, 1.0% in Australia, 0.7% in Singapore, 0.6% in Hong Kong, 0.5% in India, […] More
Eight More Central Bank Meetings, a U.S. Current Account Report, and Downgraded Global Growth
September 19, 2019
Dollar movement overnight was mixed, with gains against the Australian dollar, kiwi, sterling, and yuan but losses relative to the yen, Swiss franc, euro, loonie and peso. The 10-year U.S. Treasury and Japanese JGB yields fell three basis points. Their German and British counterparts are respective a basis point higher and a basis point lower. […] More
Central Banks and Manufacturing PMI Reports in the Spotlight
August 1, 2019
The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee left policy settings unchanged by a unanimous 9-0 vote as was expected. Today’s report coincided with the release of the quarterly Inflation Report. Projected growth in the U.K. last quarter was likely zero percent and that for 2019 has been lowered to 1.3%. The forecast assumes a Brexit […] More
Bank of England Bracing for Possible No-Deal Brexit
June 20, 2019
The Bank of England left the British Bank Rate at 0.75%, its level since a 25-basis point hike last August. The baseline forecast, which was formally reviewed at the prior meeting, anticipates further rate normalization, but assumed a smooth Brexit process that looks increasingly unlikely. Today’s statement identifies increased downside growth risks, projects flat GDP […] More
Dollar Down on a Perfect Storm of Tensions Fraught with Uncertainty
June 20, 2019
The dollar lost 0.6-0.9% overnight against the euro, Swiss franc, loonie, yuan, kiwi, Australian dollar and Mexican peso. The greenback also has fallen 0.4% relative to the yen and 0.3% vis-a-vis sterling. The list of unknowns keeps lengthening. Iran shot down a U.S. surveillance drone, seemingly bringing another Middle East war closer. From Fed Chairman […] More
Bank of England’s Policy Settings Unchanged
March 21, 2019
The Bank of England as expected did not change its 0.75% Bank Rate, which earlier had been raised twice by 25 basis points, initially in November 2017 and then in August 2018 to 0.75%, highest since March 2009. Nor were quantitative policy tools modified, and both decisions were made unanimously as expected. In a released […] More
