Tag: Bank of England

• Saturday, August 23rd 2014 - 07:02 UTC

  Bank of England minutes show some members voted to raise interest rates

  

  Two members of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to raise interest rates in August, the first time in three years that policymakers have done so. The minutes of the meeting on 6-7 August show Ian McCafferty and Martin Weale voted for a 0.25% rise to 0.75%. It means the nine-member MPC voted 7-2 to hold interest rates at their historic low of 0.5%.

• Saturday, August 9th 2014 - 06:33 UTC

  Bank of England inflation forecast, next week could give an idea on future hike

  

  The Bank of England opted this week to keep its main interest rate at a record-low level of 0.50% against a backdrop of solid British economic growth. The central bank's nine-member monetary policy committee decided also to maintain the level of cash stimulus in the economy at £375 billion, it said in a statement.

• Wednesday, July 30th 2014 - 07:45 UTC

  UK and US fine Lloyds group £218m for manipulating the Libor rate

  

  Lloyds Banking Group has been fined £218m for “serious misconduct” over some key interest rates set in London. The group manipulated the London interbank offered rate (Libor) for yen and sterling and tried to rig the rate for yen, sterling and the US dollar, said the US legal order.

• Saturday, June 7th 2014 - 05:23 UTC

  Bank of England leaves rates unchanged; fears of house prices rising too fast

  

  The Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate steady on Thursday to support the UK economy's ongoing recovery, as figures showed house prices rose at the most rapid pace in almost 12 years during May.

• Saturday, June 7th 2014 - 04:37 UTC

  IMF warns UK about a possible 'housing bubble' and low productivity

  

  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned the government that accelerating house prices and low productivity pose the greatest threat to the UK's economic recovery. Rising property values could leave households more vulnerable to income and interest rate shocks.

• Saturday, May 10th 2014 - 00:13 UTC

  ECB ready to take action against low inflation and strong Euro, says Dragui

  

  The European Central Bank is ready to take action next month to boost the Euro zone economy if updated inflation forecasts merit it, said ECB president Mario Dragui warning outsiders not to pressure the bank into action.

• Friday, May 9th 2014 - 22:15 UTC

  Bank of England leaves rates unchanged as UK economy recovers

  

  Interest rates have been held at the record low of 0.5% for another month by the Bank of England and so has the size of its bond-buying economic stimulus program unchanged at £375bn.The news is in line with analysts' expectations, despite recent evidence that the UK economic recovery is strengthening.

• Tuesday, April 29th 2014 - 06:00 UTC

  The Houblon £50 notes 20-year cycle ends next Wednesday says BoE

  

  The £50 note featuring the first governor of the Bank of England, Sir John Houblon, will be withdrawn on Wednesday after 20 years in circulation. From that time, only the £50 banknote featuring Matthew Boulton and James Watt, which was introduced in 2011, will hold legal tender status.

• Thursday, April 17th 2014 - 04:53 UTC

  For third consecutive month UK inflation stands below the 2% target rate

  

  The UK inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell to 1.6% in March from 1.7% in February, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It is the third consecutive month inflation has been below the Bank of England's 2% target rate, and the lowest rate since October 2009.

• Friday, April 11th 2014 - 04:22 UTC

  Bank of England leaves interest rates unchanged as UK recovery picks up

  

  UK interest rates have been held at their record low of 0.5% for another month by the Bank of England. On Thursday the Bank also kept the size of its bond-buying stimulus program unaltered at £375bn. No changes had been expected to either rates or the bond-buying measure, despite recent evidence that the UK economy is continuing to recover.