Surveys reveal UK consumers are optimistic on the economy February 26, 2015 CONSUMER confidence is at pre-recession levels, new figures show. The consumer confidence index released today by German market research company GFK maintained a score of one for February. At the peak of the financial crisis, the index hit minus 40, but is now at levels last seen in 2005. Another measure of consumer confidence released [...]
Bank of England trains 150 staff to monitor forex markets properly after rate-rigging scandal February 26, 2015 More than 150 Bank of England staff have been retrained to keep an eye on foreign exchange markets properly, in the wake of the manipulation scandal. Although a review led by Lord Grabiner found the Bank’s staff had not done anything wrong, officials are concerned that they did not uncover the benchmark manipulation which led [...]
Bank of England puts and end to “governors’ eyebrows and fireside chats” in transparency drive February 26, 2015 Transparency is to be the keyword for the Bank of England’s dealings with the City. The Bank is on a mission to overhaul how it interacts with the City in the wake of its embroilment in the forex scandal. In a speech this evening, Minouche Shafik, the BoE’s deputy governor for markets and banking will [...]
Could the Bank of England one day embrace Bitcoin? February 25, 2015 Cryptocurrency bitcoin, in combination with mobile technology, could revolutionise the way we make purchases, which has prompted the Bank of England to conduct more research into the area. The bank said it could defunct banks' roles as middle men by allowing secure payments to be made directly. "This has potentially profound implications for a financial [...]
Mark Carney silent on Bank of England’s mystery dove as he predicts interest rate hikes February 24, 2015 Interest rates will rise gradually over the next two years, Mark Carney told MPs yesterday, playing down the chance of another rate cut. One member of the monetary policy committee (MPC) is tempted to vote for a rate cut, according to the minutes of its last meeting. However, Bank of England governor Carney refused to [...]
Our key takeaways from Mark Carney’s speech on UK interest rates February 24, 2015 During a speech to MPs earlier today, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said an interest rate hike before the end of the year looked likely. Reading out highlights from the central bank's quarterly inflation report, he told parliament’s treasury select committee that the rise would take place despite low consumer inflation, which [...]
The UK has the sixth best digital economy in Europe February 24, 2015 The UK is one of Europe's leading digital economies, ranking as the sixth best country in Europe a new report has found. It's ahead of the majority of the rest of Europe when it comes to digital in areas such as connectivity, internet use and the integration of digital technology, according to the European Commission [...]
Yellen: Fed will drop the word “patient” before it hikes interest rates February 24, 2015 The US Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee will lose patience before it hikes interest rates, promised Fed boss Janet Yellen today – although she remained cagey about when that would happen. In prepared remarks to the Senate Banking Committee, she suggested there is no "given point" at which the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) will decide [...]
The UK economy according to the OECD in six charts February 24, 2015 Andy Haldane, the Bank of England's chief economist, said last year that the economy "appears to be writhing in both agony and ecstasy." While the economy was growing at a faster rate that most of its rich counterparts, most people weren't benefiting from this because real wages were falling, and productivity, or output per hour work, [...]
Grocery price inflation hits four-year low February 19, 2015 PRICE inflation for everyday items across Europe has hit its lowest level since 2010 after falling for a fifth quarter in a row, according to figures released today. Sales of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), which includes everything from toiletries to fizzy drinks, rose 3.1 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2014. This [...]