United Kingdom
Bank of England falls prey to e-mail hoax
Hundreds of thousands of hoax e-mails have bounced back to the Bank of England. The e-mail asks recipients to download an attachment confirmed to hold a virus.
Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, Winter 2003
The Bank of England released its Quarterly Bulletin, Winter 2003, on 19 December. Among articles included in the Bulletin are "The distribution of unsecured debt in the United Kingdom: survey evidence," "The macroeconomic impact of revitalising the…
IMF says rate rises needed in the UK
The IMF said in its annual review of the UK economy, released on Thursday 18 December, that there was a need for more interest rate increases in the UK, warning of the dangers posed by a possible housing market crash. It called for "a gradual but early…
Bank of England MPC Minutes 3/4 December 2003
Minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee Meeting were released on 17 December for the meeting of 3 and 4 December 2003. Eight members of the MPC thought that rates should remain at 3.75 per cent while Sir Andrew Large, one of the Bank…
Letter to Mervyn King from the UK Chancellor
Letter sent to the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, on the remit for the Monetary Policy Committee and the new inflation target, 10 December. There is also an annex on the new inflation target and the monetary policy framework.
Bank of England Financial Stability Review, Dec 03
The Bank of England published its latest Financial Stability Review for December 2003 on Thursday 11 December. It contains the Bank's regular half-yearly review of risks to financial stability and measures taken to strengthen the financial infrastructure…
Britain announces new inflation measure
UK chancellor Gordon Brown announced to parliament on Wednesday 10 December that Britain will in future use the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) to measure inflation, reports EU business. The new measure, which is already used by the European…
Offshore centres complain to WTO re FATF
A group of offshore centres have lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) about the imposition of international money laundering rules by the FATF, Basel committee and OECD.
Report by Task Force on Major Financial Disruption
Bank of England's Task Force publishes report on whether new statutory powers are needed to deal with major operational disruption, 3 December 2003. In the report Sir Andrew Large, deputy governor, said financial institutions should reassess large…
Bank of England maintains interest rates at 3.75%
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted to maintain the Bank's repo rate at 3.75% on 4 December. The minutes of the meeting will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 17 December.
BoE likely to pause after recent rate rise
The Bank of England is expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Thursday 4 December, AFP reports, after raising them last month. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee began its two- day meeting on Wednesday 3 December.
De La Rue plans factory closure in UK
Bank note printer De La Rue plans to sell two of its UK factories after demand for UK personal cheques, export stamps and coin bags all slumped, according to a report in The Scotsman. A spokesman said: "It's hard to predict how long cheques will survive,…
Central bank finest go East
After retiring from the Bank of England Sir Edward George joined the boards of NM Rothschild, Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster's property group and Swiss confectioner Nestle, swapping gold bars for chocolate bars in the process. But now Sir Eddie, and…
Bank of England's Bean hints at higher rates
Bank of England chief economist Charles Bean said on Monday 24 November that UK interest rates remained "simulative", according to Bloomberg News, but that increases may be required if "If growth stays above the U.K.'s trend rate for any significant…
Barker on UK monetary policy in a changing world
In a speech on 'UK monetary policy in a changing world' given on 20 November, Kate Barker of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee said some of the major risks which face the MPC, and which have made recent decisions very finely-balanced, stem…
BoE's Barker- Debt rise wouldn't make hike certain
Kate Barker, a member of the Bank of England's interest rate setting MPC, said in a speech on Thursday 20 November, reported by Reuters, that the fundamental reason for the recent increase in UK interest rates was not curbing consumer debt or house price…
BoE's King explains reasons for rate rise
Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee on Thursday 20 November, Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England gave the reasons for this month's 25 basis point rise in interest rates - the first in nearly four years. A combination of positive…
Bank of England MPC Minutes 5/6 November 2003
Minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee Meeting were released on 19 November for the meeting of 5 and 6 November 2003. The minutes showed the MPC voted 8-1 in favour of raising interest rates to 3.75%. The only dissenter was Marian…
Bank of England voted 8-1 for rate hike
Minutes from the Bank of England's last monetary policy meeting released on Wednesday 19 November showed an 8-1 vote in favour of increasing interest rates 0.25%, Reuters reports. Marian Bell, who has been labelled a dove on the MPC was the only member…
Sports talk, central bank style
Mervyn King is a well known supporter of English premier league football team Aston Villa. But the Bank of England Governor doesn't confine his support to the stadium. Last weeks Inflation Report presentation continued King's regular habit of making…
BoE's Large on financial stability
In a speech on 'Financial Stability: Maintaining Confidence in a Complex World' given on 17 November, Andrew Large of the Bank of England said he echoed the views expressed recently by Callum McCarthy, in his speech to the European Policy Forum. The FSAP…
Debt reduction could impact on UK rates
Andrew Large said on Monday 17 November that if personal debt was reduced in the UK it could have an impact on interest rates, Reuters reports. In a speech to the City of London Central Banking Conference the Bank of England's Deputy Governor for…
Bank of England Inflation Report, November 2003
The Bank of England published its quarterly Inflation Report for November 2003 on Wednesday 12 November. In the report the Bank forecast that growth in the UK would pick up to just under 3 per cent next year, and would be "marginally above trend" over…
Bank of England raises growth forecast
Mervyn King told the Bank of England's quarterly inflation report press conference on Wednesday 12 November that "There is a risk that heavily-indebted households will be badly affected by changes in economic circumstances or interest rates", Reuters…