United Kingdom
UK Treasury's Brown sees recovery 'uncertainties'
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said in a speech that resilience of the global economic recovery is more uncertain in the face of rising oil prices and currency fluctuations.
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 Central Banking courses 2005
The Bank of England's Centre for Central Banking Studies has published a provisional list of Seminars and Workshops to take place in London in 2005.
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…
George says France, Germany right to flout pact
Lord George, the former Bank of England governor, has hit out at the European Central Bank in an interview to be published this week, saying that its recent actions are damaging confidence in the eurozone's monetary policy.
BOE's Bell: Spending revisions meet expectations
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Marian Bell said a decision by the statistics office to revise down figures for consumer spending in the second quarter matched the Bank's own expectations.
Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, Autumn 2004
The Bank of England released its Quarterly Bulletin Autumn 2004, on 24 September. Declines in UK house prices may have a smaller impact on consumer spending than in the 1980s, even after households racked up more than a trillion pounds of debt ($1.8…
After the EU Financial Services Action Plan
A joint document by HM Treasury, the Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England "EU Financial Services Action Plan: UK Response to the Reports of the Four Independent Experts Groups, September 2004" was published on 24 September.
Former governors to give evidence in BCCI case
The Bank of England will call on former governors as it resumes the defence of its role in the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International.
Bank of England voted 9-0 to hold rates in Sept
The Bank of England said on Wednesday 22 September that it voted 9-0 to hold rates at 4.75 per cent in its 8 and 9 September MPC meeting. The Bank noted that recent labour market data was "surprisingly weak," though inflationary pressures were still…
BoE's Bell on statistical problems
In a speech on 'Monetary Policy, Data Uncertainty and the Supply-Side: Living With the Statistical Fog' given on 15 September, Marian Bell of the Bank of England said it is inevitable that official statistics are subject to significant uncertainty and…
Nickell warns on UK house prices
In a speech on 'Household debt, house prices and consumption growth' given on 14 September, Stephen Nickell of the Bank of England said there is a significant probability that house prices in the UK will fall at some stage though it is hard to say how…
On the resolution of banking crises
This Bank of England Working Paper reviews the merits of the various techniques used by authorities when resolving individual or widespread bank failures in developed and emerging market economies. Open-ended central bank liquidity support seems to have…
Weak EU growth threat to recovery: UK's Brown
Weak economic growth in the European Union is threatening the "uneven and fragile" global recovery, British Treasury chief Gordon Brown said in comments published on Friday 10 September.
BoE's Bean on global demographic change
In a speech 'Global demographic change: Some implications for central banks' given on 28 August, Charles Bean of the Bank of England said that although central banks will need to adapt to the changes brought about by an ageing population, for the most…
Minutes of Bank of England MPC, August
Minutes from the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee revealed a unanimous decision to raise interest rates in August, but indicate that the UK may be approaching the end of the series of rate rises which began in November 2003.
Are there too many yes men on the MPC?
This article reports that the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has remained significantly more consensual than their predecessors, with an average "maverick rating" of just under three compared with nearly five among previous members. This…
Bank of England forecasts falling inflation
The Bank of England published its August 2004 Inflation Report on 11 August. According to the report UK inflation will hit its 2% target in two years, as long as interest rates rise in line with the gradual upward path the market currently expects.
Bank of England lifts rates to 4.75%, ECB holds
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted to raise the Bank's repo rate by 0.25 percentage points on Thursday 5 August. The Bank said that its decision reflected continued strong growth which is likely to lead to rising inflationary pressures…
Research says BoE's MPC lacks 'vigorous debate'
Research published on Thursday 5 August suggested the Bank of England's interest rate setting Monetary Policy Committee lacks "vigorous debate" partly explained by the increasingly dominant influence of Mervyn King.
Central bank coxswain can't fully trust the crew
The Bank of England sees its role as a manager of other people's behaviour, this article says. A bit like the coxswain in a rowing race, the Bank both barks out orders and has a well-trained hand on the tiller. Central bankers, inevitably, like to think…
BoE wins appeal on limiting legal privilege
The Bank of England won an appeal on Thursday 29 July against rulings that restrict the confidentiality of a lawyer's contact with clients. The British government and Law Society had supported its claim that the Court of Appeal erred in its rulings on…