The Bank of England said Britain could be headed for its biggest economic slump in over 300 years due to the coronavirus lockdown and kept the door open on Thursday for further stimulus.
The U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England ramped up their emergency responses to the world's escalating coronavirus recession on Thursday as they pushed deeper into territory once considered fraught with risk for central bankers.
The Bank of England (BOE), the UK's central bank, cut interest rates by 0.5 percentage points on Wednesday morning as part of an emergency response to the coronavirus, or COVID-19.
The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at 0.75% but indicated it may cut the cost of borrowing if global economic growth fails to recover or Brexit uncertainties persist. It said the UK economy was expected to pick up from its current weakness.
Alan Turing was preferred over Stephen Hawking and Margaret Thatcher to feature on the highest-denomination bills in the country. The Bank of England has selected the face of the computer science genius whose most famous breakthrough proved decisive in the outcome of World War II against Germany to appear in the new £50 note (around 62 US dollars) due to enter circulation by the end of 2021.
British companies are likely to cancel projects that they have put on hold because of Brexit uncertainty if the country leaves the European Union without a deal to smooth the shock, Bank of England Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent said on Monday.
United Kingdom interest rate increases could be “more frequent” than expected if the economy performs as the Bank of England is expecting, governor Mark Carney says. The markets are forecasting just one interest rate increase by 2021.
The heads of two major central banks have written a stark warning about the financial risks of climate change. Bank of England governor Mark Carney and France's François Villeroy de Galhau set out the dangers to the global economy in an open letter.
The idea of a second Brexit referendum is very likely to be put before Britain's parliament again although the government remains opposed to any new plebiscite, the British finance minister said on Friday.
British politicians could now take some time to find a way forward on Brexit, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Thursday, after Prime Minister Theresa May agreed on a delay of up to six months before leaving the European Union.