Bank of England sits on its hands as rates held at historic lows April 10, 2014 No change from the boffins over at Threadneedle Street. The Bank of England's interest-rate setting committee has, as widely expected, elected to hold both interest rates and quantitative easing this month. That sees rates at their historic lows of 0.5 per cent, and asset purchases at £375bn in April. Ben Southwood, head of policy at [...]
The Bank of England chief cashier who won the Military Cross April 3, 2014 Bank of England records released this morning include their documents on the war service of the clerks who left between 1914-1918. Hundreds of young men were given “war leave” over the period, and many returned to the Bank afterwards. One of those young men was Kenneth Peppiatt, 20 or 21 in 1914 – who was [...]
Bank of England will take just one day to decide to do nothing this April March 31, 2014 Other commitments will keep the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee from taking their usual two days to ponder changes to monetary policy this April. Instead of meeting for both the 9 April and 10 April, interest rate setters will (probably) decide that it's not worth changing policy in just one day. The Bank hasn't [...]
Bank of England minutes reveal risks of further pound gains March 19, 2014 Members of the UK's interest rate setting committee voted unanimously against any policy change in March. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) chose to keep rates at their historic lows of 0.5 per cent, with asset purchases also unchanged. Minutes of the MPC reveal that sterling could strengthen further as the UK's economy [...]
Shakeup at the Bank of England could bring a hawkish surprise March 18, 2014 Sweeping changes are on the way at the top of the Bank of England, with the IMF’s Nemat “Minouche” Shafik hired as deputy governor for markets and banking, and MPC member Ben Broadbent promoted the deputy governor for monetary policy. The changes this summer will also lead to Andy Haldane becoming chief economist, and markets [...]
Bank of England appoints Lord Grabiner QC to lead forex probe March 12, 2014 The UK's central bank has appointed Lord Grabiner QC, the man who oversaw News Corp's internal hacking investigation, to lead an investigation into "conduct issues in the foreign exchange market." Grabiner is a commercial lawyer, with over 40 years of experience working on commercial litigation cases in London. The investigation, which is supported by Travers [...]
Innovia Security bags Bank of England contract to make material for new polymer notes March 12, 2014 The Bank of England (BoE) has announced this morning that it’s agreed a contract with Innovia Security to supply the polymer material to make its new (polymer) bank notes. The plastic for the £5 and £10 notes will be made in Wigton, Cumbria, with Innovia creating a plant specially. It’ll be operational from 2016, with [...]
Here’s what the Bank of England has to say on Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ripple March 12, 2014 In a new primer on the nature of money, the UK's central bank has waded into the world of sterling-alternatives. Seeing "a wave of innovation" in the recent past, the Bank says in "Money in the modern economy" that alternative currencies are not widely accepted as a medium of exchange. Or at least, not as [...]
Bank of England plans shake-up to tackle forex probe March 11, 2014 GOVERNOR Mark Carney vowed to restore the Bank of England’s credibility and repair financial markets yesterday, hiring a new deputy governor to investigate foreign exchange market manipulation claims. Carney promised to “ruthlessly, relentlessly follow through with the investigation” into claims a Bank of England staff member had encouraged or turned a blind eye to traders’ attempts [...]
Why the Bank of England must stop deleting its historical records March 11, 2014 THE DESTRUCTION of historical records by government bodies is a recurring motif of the unfree society. So the Bank of England’s hesitancy to publish transcripts from its meetings should be a serious cause for concern. Worse still, recordings of the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) meetings are not even preserved. They are routinely deleted – the [...]