United Kingdom
Political pointers
LETTER - Letter published in the London Financial Times on 24 June from Maurice Fitzpatrick.
Geneva meet to debate Islamic mortgages
UK - A Bank of England working party, which includes representatives of commercial banks and the Treasury, is investigating the wider introduction of Shari'ah compliant house mortgages in the UK, according to the UK's Observer newspaper.
A flawed independence
ARTICLE - Treasury interference could stop the Bank of England mitigating the effects of inflationary shocks, says Christopher Huhne in an article in Thursday's London edition of the Financial Times.
Euro goes to court over trade mark dispute
EUROPE - The European Commission will be forced to defend the design of the euro symbol in court today less than six months after the introduction of the single currency. The emblem has become the subject of a trademark battle with Thomas Cook and…
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee Minutes
MINUTES - Minutes from the Bank of England's MPC meeting 5 and 6 June, released 19 June. The committee acknowledged the continuing economic recovery in the United States and the euro area's modest 0.2% growth in the first quarter.
Speech by Stephen Nickell, Bank of England, 19 Jun
SPEECH - In the paper titled 'Monetary Policy Issues: Past, Present, Future' Nickell answered questions such as Has the MPC demonstrated a bias towards deflation?, and What are the challenges for the immediate future?
Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin Summer 2002
REPORT - The Bank of England has released its Quarterly Bulletin for Summer 2002. It includes articles on why spending on durable goods needs to be analysed differently from that on other types of goods, providing possible explanations for its recent…
Bank of England Inflation Attitudes Survey May 02
SURVEY - The Bank of England has published the results to its Inflation Attitudes Survey which is conducted quarterly. An article in the summer Quarterly Bulletin, also published today, examines the trends seen in the four surveys up to and including…
Bank of England Working Paper No 156
RESEARCH - Bank of England working paper on 'Equilibrium exchange rates and supply-side performance' by Gianluca Benigno and Christoph Thoenissen.
Central banks should heed asset inflation
LETTER - Anthony H. Rowley, a contributor to Central Banking journal, argues in a letter published in the Financial Times on 10 June that central banks should pay more attention to asset inflation when conducting monetary policy.
Bank of England leaves rate unchanged at 4%
UK - The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has left its key lending rate unchanged at four percent for the seventh month running as it awaits concrete signs that the economy has shaken off its downturn.
Bank of England maintains interest rates at 4.0%
PRESS RELEASE - The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the Bank's repo rate at 4.0%. The minutes of the meeting will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 19 June.
Coo!
FEATURE - Sushil Wadhwani's tenure as a member of the Bank of England's interest rate setting committee comes to an end on Friday. The Financial Times, in its Observer column on Thursday, couldn't help making one last joke about Wadhwani's dovish…
Ian exits
FEATURE - The FT's Observer writes on Thursday, farewell Ian Plenderleith - sphinx-like to the end. At a Tuesday night retirement bash for the Bank of England director, his boss Eddie George preserved Plenderleith's legendary reputation as a backroom…
Outgoing MPC member raises bank independence fears
UK - The independence of the Bank of England could be at risk if it continues to undershoot its target for inflation, a member of the Bank's monetary policy committee has warned.
Wadhwani - Inflation forecasts overestimate threat
UK - Reaching for an analogy to explain what the Bank of England's monetary policy committee has got wrong, Sushil Wadhwani turns to the wisdom of one of the cricketing legends: Geoff Boycott in an interview with the Financial Times.
HM Treasury Announcement
ANNOUNCEMENT - Non-Executive appointments to the Court of the Bank of England, 29 May.
Bank of England News Release
NEWS RELEASE - Serial Numbers of £5 Banknotes, 27 May.
New £5 coin would make more sense
LETTER - A letter published in the London edition of the Financial Times on 28 May.
Risks await in raising interest rates
FEATURE - If central bankers are 100 per cent sure that interest rates need to start rising, it is probably too late reports Tuesday's Financial Times.
Bank of England News release, 27 May
NEWS RELEASE - Practical Issues Arising from the Euro - May 2002.
Posh jobs
FEATURE - Former directors of Equitable Life who are being sued for more than £3bn will turn green with envy if they cast an eye over the Bank of England's annual report. In a section on governance and accountability, it makes clear that the Bank's Court…
Warning from Bank of England over euro timetable
UK - Ministers must not be tempted into shortening the timetable for scrapping the pound if Britain votes to join the euro, the Bank of England has warned.
Problem with ink found on new Bank of England note
UK - The Bank of England began an urgent investigation Monday after several people reported that serial numbers on new, anti-counterfeit bank notes had rubbed off on their hands.