United Kingdom

BOE Oct minutes: MPC voted 8-1 to cut repo rate

UK - The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 to cut the repo rate by a quarter percentage point to 4.5% in October, just weeks after it had cut rates by an equal amount in a 7-2 vote, according to minutes of those meetings released…

Prime candidate for Bank of England hot seat

ARTICLE - In all the turmoil over a momentous weekend, a valuable contribution to City gossip is in danger of being overlooked. The esteemed City chronicler, Christopher Fildes, reminded us in his Spectator column last week that the next big job vacancy…

Fed best at policy communication? Not necessarily

UK - If you thought the U.S. Federal Reserve was the paradigm of central bank transparency while the European Central Bank struggled to communicate policy, think again. This comes from a recent report entitled "How Do Central Banks Talk?" published by…

Bank of England governor positive on UK prospects

UK - Sir Edward George, the governor of the Bank of England, believes the 11 September attacks on the US have not had a great effect on Britain's domestic economy and he has suggested they may have only a short-term effect on the world economy.

'No prior talks' on emergency interest rate cuts

UK - The world-wide cuts in interest rates in the wake of the terror attacks on New York and Washington was not coordinated in advance, according to a prominent former member of the Bank of England's policy-making Monetary Policy Committee.

Many Britons ignorant of Euro

ARTICLE - Captain Euro is the Euro's friendly-face, an animated character who, with his band of merry men and women, are here to educate people about Europe and its new currency.

Banks fail on internet targets

UK - Banks have failed to meet targets for cost savings from internet banking and almost half believe the business case for setting up web services may not be viable.

Offshore banks warned over controls

UK - Offshore financial centres, which include the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, face a "bleak future" unless they improve anti-money laundering controls in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the US, Britain's main financial regulator warned…

Plenderleith - UK able to weather econ uncertainty

UK - The U.K. is well placed to weather the current world economic slowdown because of its low inflation and the underlying competitive advantages of major economies, Bank of England executive director Ian Plenderleith said Thursday 20 September in a…