United Kingdom
Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, Autumn 2005
The Bank of England released its Quarterly Bulletin Autumn 2005 on Monday. The Bulletin includes the article "Assessing the MPC's fan charts" which says the Bank's use of fan charts has given a 'reasonably good guide' to the risks surrounding the outlook…
UK completes world's first 50 year indexed bond
The UK completed the syndication of its first fifty-year inflation linked bond on Friday 23 September, achieving a price and coverage which demonstrated the strong demand for long-dated bonds, and investors' enthusiasm for inflation protection at this…
Bank of England's MPC united on rate vote
Minutes from the Bank of England's 7 and 8 September meeting released on Wednesday 21 September showed policy makers voted unanimously to keep interest rates unchanged.
Nickell on practical issues in UK monetary policy
In the speech 'Practical issues in UK monetary policy, 2000-2005' given on 20 September, Stephen Nickell of the Bank of England said the Bank could not have prevented Britain's house-price boom without harming economic growth.
Comment: Challenging 'received wisdom'
In delivering the Keynes Lecture in Economics at the British Academy on Tuesday, Bank of England MPC member, Professor Stephen Nickell, set out to refute two major areas of criticism of MPC's track-record over the last five years.
What future for central banks?
The London School of Economics is hosting a public lecture on Thursday 24 November. 'What future for central banks?' will be presented by Howard Davies, director of the LSE and chaired by Professor Charles Goodhart.
BoE's Nickell warns on growth shortfall in UK
The economy faces a 'serious risk' that economic growth will fall short of the Bank of England's forecasts, Stephen Nickell, a member of the central bank's rate-setting body told the Financial Times.
BoE's Walton on monetary policy challenges
In the speech 'Monetary policy challenges facing a new MPC member' given on 16 September David Walton of the Bank of England said it has been a very interesting, and challenging, time to join the MPC.
BoE's Lambert downplays UK inflation rise
Writing in the UK newspaper the Sun, Bank of England rate setter Richard Lambert downplayed the sharp recent rise in UK inflation, saying that the central bank does not set rates according to where inflation stands at present.
Comment: view from London
Today we turn to Andrew Smithers, the market analyst and economist, whose latest Market Update (September 14) provides a stimulating commentary on the markets - and food for thought for central bankers everywhere.
King's cricket connection
Mervyn King spent Thursday 8 September watching England play Australia at the Oval in the last Ashes cricket Test. But the Bank of England governor doesn't just watch the game, he is also involved in a campaign to bring more cricket to state schools in…
U.K. interest rates are heading for a decline
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee will decide on UK interest rates this Thursday. This article published on Wednesday 7 September suggests there will no surprise when the MPC leaves interest rates unchanged at 4.5 per cent, but rates are…
BoE's Bean on the business cycle
In a speech given on 26 August Charlie Bean of the Bank of England comments on Bob Hall's article "Separating the Business Cycle from Other Economic Fluctuations".
BoE's King on UK inflation
In a speech given on 27 August Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, said that inflation expectations in the UK may shift significantly even if the cause of the change in prices is due to temporary factors.
Bank of England to cut financial stability staff
The Bank of England is planning to restructure the division which monitors financial stability, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph. The move could see the elimination of about 20 of the 150 jobs in the department.
The FSA sharpens its claws
The UK Financial Services Authority has signed a new agreement with the City of London police, which enhances its ability to pursue corporate criminals.
Basel II may feed volatility
Despite recognising that the new Basel accord is "widely viewed as a much needed effort to deal with the shortcoming of the current system", a recent working paper by the Bank of England (BoE) raises new concerns about how the accord may exacerbate…
What's behind real exchange rate moves?
A new working paper from the Bank of England's economic research engine room looks into the reasons for past movements in exchange rates. In contrast to the "benchmark model" in this field, the paper finds an important role for nominal shocks in…
Fears over narrow inflation targets
Wolfgang Munchau criticises overemphasis on inflation targets in a column in the Financial Times. Inflation targets have done good work in bringing down inflation and inflation expectations, he says, but with that battle won, perhaps they are no longer…
In search of King's defence
Two articles published Thursday reflected on the Bank of England's last MPC meeting which saw the governor outvoted for the first time. One says the UK's "boring" monetary policy just got a whole lot more interesting, noting that heavyweight Charlie Bean…
Comment: Views on King's gambit
Here is a roundup comments on the Bank of England's publication of the minutes of the latest MPC meeting, which revealed that, for the first time in the committee's history, the governor voted with the minority (see yesterday's CentralBankNet).
Bank of England MPC Minutes, 3 & 4 August
The minutes from the 3 & 4 August meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee published on Wednesday 17 August showed governor Mervyn King and three other top officials voted against this month's decision by the nine member MPC to cut…
Comment:Test for Mervyn King's communication skill
What does yesterday's revelation that the top brass of the Bank of England's MPC were outvoted at August's monetary policy meeting imply for the market's view of future interest movements in the UK? And what does it tell us about the institutional set-up…
Bank of England needs to re-examine its forecasts
This article published on Wednesday 10 August says that the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is under great pressure to get its forecasts right. It asks whether it's possible we are too reverential when it comes to the Bank's projections.