Bank rate cut: Property investment crowned winner while savers lose out August 5, 2016 The Bank of England launched a massive stimulus package yesterday in a bid to save Britain from recession. The Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted unanimously to slash interest rates to an all-time low of 0.25 per cent. Take a look at the winners and losers of the rate cut: WINNER: Property investment The cut to interest rates is [...]
Thank Mark Carney if Britain escapes a post-Brexit recession August 4, 2016 The 0.25 per cent cut from 0.5 per cent, itself already a record low, finally came yesterday, a month later than the market had anticipated. It was the first move in interest rates by the Bank of England in seven years. I often wondered whether membership of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) wasn’t the best [...]
As the Bank cuts interest rates and restarts bond purchases, will it succeed in stimulating the economy? August 4, 2016 Dean Turner, UK economist at UBS Wealth Management, says Yes. With the threat of a sharp slowdown looming, the pre-emptive strike by the Bank of England with a comprehensive package of easing measures, should ease the pain. The measures were more than the markets were anticipating, as was the signal that the Bank stands ready to [...]
Carney’s monetary policy to the rescue? Let’s be honest, probably not August 4, 2016 As was expected by most market watchers, the Bank of England has reacted to the poor PMI and the weakening economic outlook since the referendum by taking several decisive actions today. However, it is right to be sceptical about the success of these measures and question whether the Bank's actions will be suited to support [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open August 4, 2016 The Bank of England has cut interest rates and markets are loving it. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US stock futures are pointing up ahead of the open. The S&P is up by 0.15 per cent, the Nasdaq is up by 0.05 per cent, while [...]
Here’s what seven City analysts are saying about the Bank of England’s decision to cut interest rates August 4, 2016 So that's it – after seven long years of interest rates becoming increasingly boring, today the Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) voted to cut the base rate to 0.25 per cent. Here's how analysts have reacted: 1. "Oh, the irony" Calum Bennie, savings expert at Scottish Friendly: “It seems for many savers chickens [...]
Here’s how the market reacted to the Bank of England’s interest rate cut August 4, 2016 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has gone above and beyond market expectations with a massive stimulus package and taken an axe to interest rates. The Bank’s monetary policy committed (MPC) voted unanimously to lower interest rates to 0.25 per cent and extended its quantitative easing programme that will add £170bn of cash into the economy, warning growth in the [...]
The Bank of England’s interest rate decision is so interesting, its website just went down August 4, 2016 We know we've been waiting for interest rates to get interesting for a long time, but this is just ridiculous. After the Bank of England's monetary policy committee made the not-so-shock decision to cut interest rates, the Bank's website promptly crashed. Users trying to find more information about the rate cut, or read today's quarterly inflation [...]
Markets poised for crunch interest rate move from Bank of England August 4, 2016 Markets are standing by this morning for the Bank of England to take interest rates to a record low later today – and the nerves are showing. Sterling is falling ahead of the announcement and the FTSE 100 has also eased back as traders assess just how much fuel the Bank of England will throw onto the [...]
Economists call for Bank of England cash handouts to prop up economy August 4, 2016 A group of economists has called on the Bank of England and the government to sanction direct cash handouts – so-called helicopter money – to stimulate the economy in the wake of the EU referendum. In a letter to the Guardian ahead of the Bank of England's crunch meeting today, economists from a number of universities [...]