United Kingdom
BoE ready to act if sharp US downturn-Plenderleith
Britain's central bank will be ready to cut interest rates again if the slowdown in the U.S. economy proves more severe than expected, Bank of England Executive Director Ian Plenderleith said on Mar 14, 2001.
Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin - Spring 2001
RESEARCH PAPER - The Bank of England has published the spring 2001 issue of the Quarterly Bulletin, the first issue to be published to a new timetable separated from the quarterly Inflation Report. There are four key articles, mainly dealing with the UK…
UK banks at fault over Abacha money laundering-FSA
RESEARCH REPORT - The UK Financial Servicies Authority has concluded an investigation into UKbanks' financial dealings with the deposed Nigerian leader, General SaniAbacha. The report is strongly critical of control failures at 15 UK bankswhich laundered…
Recent Developments in Financial Markets-Clementi
SPEECH - In a speech titled "Recent Developments in Financial Markets: Some Implications for Financial Stability" delivered at the Banca D'Italia on Mar 9, 2001, David Clementi, deputy governor of the Bank of England, discusses some recent developments…
Recent US data 'quite encouraging' - BoE George
Central bankers from the Group of l0 industrialized nations believe a pick-up in the U.S. economy during the second half of this year "remains the most likely outcome," Eddie George, current chairman and head of the Bank of England, said on Mar 12, 2001.
The rise and fall of consortium banks-by R Roberts
ARTICLE - Consortium banks, which flourished in the early "unregulated" years of the Euromarkets, have all but disappeared. Richard Roberts explains how concern about their stability prompted the BIS to develop the principle of "parental responsibility"…
Bank of England holds rates at 5.75% for now
The Bank of England left its key interest rate steady at 5.75 percent on Mar 8, declining to cut rates despite a deteriorating global economic outlook.
Impact of macro news announcements on exch rates
Andrew Clare and Roger Courtenay from the Bank of England have written an interesting paper titled "Assessing the impact of macroeconomic news announcements on securities prices under different monetary policy regimes". The study investigates whether the…
IMF urges UK maintain cautious fiscal stance
The IMF strongly approves of the UK's current monetary and fiscal policy framework saying that it has contributed to the longest period of sustained non-inflationary output growth in 30 years, but warned Chancellor Gordon Brown not to loosen the public…
UK euro entry debate finely balanced-BoE's George
Britain's central bank governor on Feb 23, 2001 declared himself a euro pragmatist, and said the arguments for and against the country joining the euro zone were finely balanced.
UK budget should not influence BoE-MPC's Nickell
The fact that the next policy meeting of Britain's central bank comes the day after the annual budget should not prevent its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) from altering interest rates, an MPC member has said.
'Foreign Exchange Reserves Management'-John Nugee
The Centre for Central Banking Studies at the Bank of England has recently published a handbook on "Foreign Exchange Reserve Management" written by John Nugee who at the time was head of reserve management at the Bank. This is one of the few…
UK MPC voted unaminously for Feb rate cut-minutes
Minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee meeting in early February 2001 showed all nine members backed the cut to 5.75 percent, with some seeing a case for a half point reduction in borrowing costs.
BoE pressed to publish dissent on forecasts
Pressure is mounting on the Bank of England to make its inflation forecasts more transparent despite recent attempts by the central bank to make public the divergent views of its policymakers. The Bank's quarterly inflation forecast is closely watched by…
BoE's George says may have to pen inflation letter
Bank of England Governor Sir Edward George said on Feb 17, 2001 it was possible inflation in Britain would stray a full point away from its target, meaning he would have to write to the government explaining why. UK inflation currently stands at its…
British public see EMU membership as inevitable
According to a new poll reported by GrahamBishop.com, the British public sees EMU membership as inevitable by 2010 and the government is expected to take the lead on pushing for the benefits of EMU participation. The report also contends there has been a…
Interview: Charles Goodhart
In a wide-ranging interview, Professor Charles Goodhart gives his views on the main challenges facing central banks today: output gap forecasting and productivity shifts, and the role of asset prices and the exchange rate in monetary policy. He also…
Interview: BoE's MPC member Sushil Wadhwani
Sushil Wadhwani, an "external" member of the monetary policy committee of the Bank of England, explains why he is a "productivity optimist". Over the last decade, forecasters have systematically underestimated GDP growth in the UK and simultaneously…
Prodi says Britain will lose influence outside eur
European Commission President Romano Prodi warned Britain on Feb 15, 2001 it would lose control over its economy if it remained outside the euro. Challenging the widespread fear in Britain that signing up to the euro would entail a major surrender of…
Bank of England expects growth to slow in Q2 2001
The United Kingdom's annual growth rate will drop to around 2% in the second half of 2001, the Bank of England projected, even as unemployment data showed the number of jobless Britons fell far more than expected in January 2001. In its first quarterly…
BoE's forecast confirms loosening stance
The Bank of England's February 2001 inflation report confirmed marketexpectations that UK interest rates were likely to head down over thecourse of 2001. Mervyn King, deputy governor for monetary stability, who presented thereport despite a bout of flu,…
Bank of England cuts rates by 0.25%
The Bank of England has cut its key UK interest rate by 0.25% to 5.75%. It is the first cut for nearly two years. The decision, announced at noon in London on Feb 8, 2001, followed the latest two day monthly meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary…
EX-MPC members say BoE helped by benign inflation
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has benefited from a benign inflation climate, according to two top economists who used to sit on the committee. Since the central bank won its independence from government in 1997, the MPC has consistently…