Mark Carney
Bank of England Review
October 9, 2014
A terse boilerplate statement was released today at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee’s October meeting, leaving the Bank Rate at 0.5% and the size of the bond purchase program at 375 billion pounds. The last rate change occurred in March 2009, when quantitative stimulus was also introduced. The last increase of the asset […] More
Bank of England
October 10, 2013
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) didn’t change policy settings. This was the expected result. The Bank Rate has been 0.5% for over 4-1/2 years, and eleven months have now elapsed since the GBP 375 billion current limit on the Asset Purchase Program was reached. The U.K. economic recovery has been stronger than imagined, squelching any […] More
UN/U.S. Missile Strike in Syria Appears Just a couple Days Away
August 28, 2013
Markets continue to be rattled by the additional uncertainty of what escalating western military involvement in Syria will cause. Although opinion polls show four in five Americans opposed to military retaliation, a missile attack by Thursday is believed likely. Share prices fell 3.0% in the Philippines, 2.5% in Vietnam, 1.6% in Hong Kong, 1.5% in […] More
A New Beginning at the Bank of England
July 4, 2013
The old modus operandi at Britain’s central bank was to reveal useful information immediately after a policy meeting only if interest rates and/or unconventional monetary policy measures had been changed and otherwise to defer markets to published minutes due two weeks later. Today’s statement following the first Monetary Policy Committee meeting under the governorship of […] More
Lull in Data Flow… Equities Down
July 2, 2013
The Reserve Bank of Australia left its Official Cash Rate at a record low 2.75% and called the Aussie dollar still elevated. Australia (2.6%) and New Zealand (0.9%), along with Japan (1.8%), were among the few stock markets to see prices rise overnight. Share prices otherwise fell by 1.2% in the Philippines, 1.0% in Indonesia, […] More
Hot Fun in the Summertime: Good Data Reported in Japan and Europe
July 1, 2013
The Bank of Japan’s quarterly corporate survey revealed a 12-point advance to +4 in the diffusion index for large manufacturers, a 6-point increase to +12 in the index for large non-manufacturers, and sharp upwardly revised investment plans for the present fiscal year. France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, and Greece reported higher purchasing manager […] More
