United Kingdom

SA's Manuel backs plan to sell IMF's gold

South Africa would back a British proposal to use International Monetary Fund (IMF) gold reserves to write off the debts of poor countries, finance minister Trevor Manuel said on Monday 17 January.

Bank of England MPC Minutes, 8&9 December

The minutes from the 8 & 9 December meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England showed that members voted unanimously to leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged, with some policy makers raising the possibility of a rate cut.

FRC issues new regulation strategy

The Financial Reporting Council, the UK's unified, independent regulator for corporate reporting and governance, announced its intention to become more pro-active in its enforcement of accounting standards, in a strategy plan issued on Tuesday 21…

Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, Winter 2004

The Bank of England released its Quarterly Bulletin Winter 2004, on 17 December. In the report the bank said it has underestimated the strength of the pound in the past 18 months, while another article concludes that UK household debt "remains affordable…

Bank of England Financial Stability Review, Dec 04

The Bank of England published its latest Financial Stability Review for December 2004 on Monday 13 December. Near-term credit, market and liquidity risks to UK financial stability have remained subdued since the June Review, and the immediate prospects…

State Street on the dollar

John Nugee of State Street Global Advisors, formerly of the Bank of England, has today released an analysis of the dollar problem. The paper argues that the main effect of the dollar weakness on central banks' willingness to hold dollars may be felt not…

Former MPC member to oversee Blunkett inquiry

Sir Alan Budd, a former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, has been commissioned by John Gieve, the Home Office permanent secretary, to undertake an "urgent investigation" into claims that Home Secretary David Blunkett fast…

BoE's King on facing up to uncertainty

In the speech 'What fates impose: Facing up to uncertainty' given on 1 December, Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England said that transparency about what we know and what we don't know, far from undermining credibility, helps to build trust and…

BoE's King says UK growth 'a little stronger'

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King told the Treasury Committee on Tuesday 30 November that economic growth in the UK will probably pick up in the fourth quarter and remain at a rate that will bolster inflation in the next two years.

BoE's Lomax on stability and statistics

In a speech on 'Stability and statistics' given on 23 November, Rachel Lomax of the Bank of England said that the past decade has been a time of unparalleled stability for output and inflation, creating a much better climate for business. She says it is…

BoE's Large on Financial Instrument Accounting

In the speech 'Financial Instrument Accounting' given on 22 November Andrew Large of the Bank of England said it is essential that accounting standards have a clear economic rationale, promote comparability and secure adequate disclosure.

Bank of England MPC Minutes, 3&4 November

The minutes from the 3 and 4 November meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England were released on 17 November. The minutes showed that policymakers preparing their quarterly forecasts saw growth near trend and inflation on course to…

Caruana: what is next for Basel

Remarks by Mr Jaime Caruana, Governor of the Bank of Spain and Chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, at the "Basel II: Reality Check" Conference, London, 10 November 2004.

Devaluation dangers for the United States

Large cross-border holdings of foreign assets and liabilities mean that exchange rate adjustment has grown in importance relative to the traditional trade balance channel, argue the authors of a new CEPR discussion paper. The paper empirically explores…

Bank of England Inflation Report, November 2004

The Bank of England published its November 2004 Inflation Report on 10 November. In the report the Bank cut its forecast for UK economic growth in 2005 to about 2.5 per cent from 3.1 per cent and said that inflation may accelerate less than expected.

BoE paper on monetary policy rules

This Bank of England Working Paper evaluates the performance of three popular monetary policy rules where the central bank is learning about the parameter values of a simple New Keynesian model. The paper argues that adopting integral representations of…

BoE's Lambert sees `low and stable' inflation

UK inflation probably will remain ``low and stable'' amid slowing economic expansion and subdued wage growth, Bank of England policy maker Richard Lambert said, indicating he sees little immediate need for higher interest rates.

Bank of England MPC Minutes, 6&7 October

The minutes from the 6 and 7 October meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England were released on 20 October. All nine MPC members voted to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.75 percent this month, while there seemed to be no…

BoE's King: UK economy may be in 'soft patch'

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said that five interest rate rises since November are slowing consumer spending, suggesting rates may not need to rise much further. His comments came in an interview after a speech in which he said the current…