The Bank of England sold on Tuesday £750 million worth of UK government bonds from its quantitative easing stockpile. It was the first Western central bank to do so and received a solid demand from investors at its first auction to sell government bonds from its £838 billion pound quantitative easing portfolio.
Since British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt pushed back this year's autumn statement (expected “mini budget”) --from Halloween to 17 November--. Bank of England who are meeting on 3 November have been left without guidance as to the government's tax and spending policies.
Lord Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013 said the United Kingdom faces an era of much austerity to stabilize the economy, with the average person having to face significantly higher taxes to fund public spending.
The Bank of England unveiled further measures to calm market turmoil triggered by the UK mini budget announcement. The bank said it would spend up to 5 billion pounds (€5.7 billion, US$5.5 billion) per day on inflation-linked government debt bonds, or gilts, to further prop up Britain's £2.1-trillion bond market.
Britain's central bank on Wednesday warned that dwindling confidence in the economy poses a significant risk as it took the unusual step of intervening directly in financial markets. The move was aimed at restoring financial stability in markets shaken by the Liz Truss government fiscal policies.
British banknotes and coins in circulation with the Queen's portrait will slowly be replaced by new printed and minted banknotes and coins bearing King Charles III portrait. The Bank of England has not yet given any details, saying that more will be known once the period of mourning has passed.
London High Court Judge Sara Cockerill Friday ruled against that President Nicolás Maduro's stance in the case involving Venezuela's gold reserves deposited in the Bank of England.
The Bank of England on Thursday increased for the fourth consecutive time the base rate interest to 1% in an attempt to contain inflation and despite admitting the prospect of recession. The energy crunch, the Russian war in Ukraine, and lesser household incomes are expected to contribute to weaker growth.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) this week voted by a majority of 5-4 to increase Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 0.5%. Those members in the minority preferred to increase Bank Rate by 0.5 percentage points, to 0.75%.
Can’t we just print more money? is a new pop-economics book, written by the Bank of England, which will be published this May in partnership with Cornerstone Press (Penguin Random House).