United Kingdom
UK opposition moots change to BoE price target
Britain's main opposition party has indicated that it will review the Bank of England's inflation target if it comes to power.
BoE - Credit Conditions Survey
Lenders reduced the availability of secured credit to households in the three months to mid-March, according to the latest Bank of England Credit Conditions Survey.
Harsh standards prompt drop in secured UK loans
Tighter lending conditions have sparked the steepest-ever climb in British housing equity in the last quarter of 2008.
Monetary union could improve British stability
The British economy's stability would be enhanced by euro adoption, a new paper from the St Louis Federal Reserve posits.
G20 protests converge on Bank of England
The Bank of England on Wednesday was surrounded by anti-capitalist protesters, converging on Threadneedle Street to vent their anger at the crisis on the eve of the London G20 summit.
Tucker: macroprudential is more than macro + micro
A macroprudential approach to financial supervision requires more than simply bringing together the central bank's macroeconomists and the regulator's line supervisors, said Paul Tucker, a deputy governor of the Bank of England.
Inflation-targeting regime improves policy
During the Bank of England's inflation-targeting regime, monetary policy shocks have been more muted and inflation expectations have been lower than before, a new paper from the central bank posits.
A guide for would-be MPC members
An ability to challenge convention, courage in one's convictions and a thick skin are some of the qualities essential for Monetary Policy Committee members, two external members of the Bank of England's committee have said.
Calls for Bank to retake control of regulation
The leader of Britain's main opposition party wants the Bank of England to regain its role in regulating the overall level of debt in the banking system.
MPC dove slams policy orthodoxy
David Blanchflower, an external member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, has launched a scathing attack on monetary-policy orthodoxy, questioning inflation targeting's intellectual roots and advocating consideration of whether to use…
King details vision for quantitative easing
The Bank of England expects to spend the first £75 billion ($110.5 billion) tranche set aside for quantitative easing, within the next three months, Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank, said on Tuesday.
Monetary policy can affect relative prices
Monetary policy can affect relative prices in the economy, a new paper from the Bank of England posits.
UK inflation statistic surprises
The British CPI inflation statistic for the year to February, out Tuesday, confounded analysts' expectations of a steep fall, rising by a fifth of a percentage point from the January figure.
UK rejigs inflation basket
Rose wine, hot rotisserie chicken and internet-based DVD subscriptions are some of the items that have been added to Britain's new inflation basket.
Household consumption key for rate riddle
Households' consumption habits explain the uncovered interest rate parity puzzle, a new paper from the Bank of England reveals.
Bank to begin buying corporate bonds next week
The Bank of England said on Thursday that it would begin buying corporate bonds outright next week.
Morgan Stanley economist new MPC member
Alistair Darling, the chancellor of the exchequer, announced on Thursday that David Miles will replace David Blanchflower as an external member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on 1 June.
BoE unanimous on March decision
The minutes from the March meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee show members voted unanimously to cut bank rate by 50 basis points to a fresh all-time low of 0.5% and to buy £75 billion-worth ($104.8 billion) of assets using central…
King moots Glass-Steagall revival
Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, has called for a debate on whether the global financial crisis has shown that a Glass-Steagall type provision is needed to prevent retail deposits from being used to fund investment-banking activities.
FSA's Turner unveils blueprint for reform
Lord Adair Turner, the chairman of Britain's Financial Services Authority (FSA), on Wednesday published proposals for fundamental regulatory overhaul of the financial system, which includes a shift in the approach of the industry watchdog, whose…
Policy can make deflationary episodes more costly
The costs of previous deflationary episodes have been exacerbated by inappropriate policy responses, a new paper from the Bank of England posits.
FSA's Sants heralds "supervisory revolution"
Limitations of a purely principles-based regulatory regime have to be recognised, Hector Sants, the chief executive of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the British industry regulator, has conceded.
BoE's Barker confident on quantitative easing
Increasing the money supply is a significant move that will prop up the economy, said Kate Barker, a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.
Old Lady begins quantitative easing
The Bank of England began its first round of gilt purchases on Wednesday, buying £2 billion ($2.8 billion) of the instruments outright in an attempt to boost the money supply.