United Kingdom
UK lawmakers want all the gore on bank lifelines
An influential group of British lawmakers have called for the UK Treasury to be much more open in detailing the liabilities taken on by its ownership of stakes in some of the country's biggest banks.
FSA chairman outlines reform agenda
Lord Adair Turner, the chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), Britain's financial supervisor, on Wednesday presented his vision of how regulation needed to change.
UK action must be backed up abroad: BoE's Tucker
The British Treasury's measures, announced Monday, to kickstart a financial recovery stand a better chance of success if they are mirrored by governments across the globe, a senior Bank of England official testified on Wednesday.
Business can bypass banks with bond sales: King
The Bank of England's round of corporate bond purchases, set to begin within weeks, could revive ailing capital markets by reducing businesses reliance on bank lending, Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, said on Tuesday evening.
Why we must say no to nationalisation
In the UK, nationalisation is increasingly being advocated by many experts as a solution to the banking crisis. Such a step would be a disaster for the UK and the City of London, argues Robert Pringle, the editor-in-chief of Central Banking journal.
Bank of England's January minutes
The minutes from the January meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee show most members judged cutting bank rate by 50 basis points would provide a significant stimulus to the economy.
UK inflation still in letter-writing territory
British CPI inflation in the year to December was 3.1%, down a full percentage point from the November figure but still significantly above the Bank of England's 2% target.
Bank granted new powers to aid markets
The Bank of England has been given new powers, including the potential to undertake quantitative easing, as part of renewed efforts to safeguard the financial system, announced by the British Treasury on Monday.
London's lifelines lack coherence
The dangerously mixed messages underlying the British government's rescue attempts threaten to derail efforts to secure stability, argues Robert Pringle, the editor-in-chief of Central Banking journal.
BoE's Gieve: market signals mixed
The fortunes of the financial markets in the New Year have been mixed, said Sir John Gieve, the deputy governor of the Bank of England.
Ex-MPC members offer solutions to crunch
A financial stability committee, a derivatives exchange and a pan-EU regulator were among the ideas suggested to stave off future credit crises by an influential group of British-based economists on Tuesday.
BoE - Credit Conditions Survey
UK lenders report rise in default rates and losses on lending to households and private non-financial corporations, says the Bank of England's Credit Conditions Survey for the last quarter of 2008.
UK rates hit all-time low
In a widely expected move, the Bank of England lowered its policy rate to 1.5%, the lowest in the institution's 300-year history.
Sterling edges towards euro parity
The dramatic decline in the value of the British currency showed few signs of abating as it edged towards parity with the euro on Wednesday.
Gieve: we need new instruments
Sir John Gieve, the deputy governor of the Bank of England, has admitted that the Bank underestimated the scale of the credit crisis and said the turmoil has demonstrated the need to equip central banks with new policy tools.
Pound could sink to par with euro "within weeks"
The pound will reach parity against the euro on the back of a stream of poor news on the macro front and expectations on interest rates, market participants say.
Old Lady mulled another mammoth move
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which slashed rates by a percentage point to take them to an all-time low earlier this month, considered backing an even larger move, the minutes of the meeting reveal.
UK inflation falls as King writes letter
British inflation fell in November but remains far above the Bank of England's target, obliging Mervyn King, the governor of the central bank, to write another letter explaining why inflation remains so high and what the Bank is doing to bring it down.
Cameron talks tough on bankers
David Cameron, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party in Britain, has talked tough on going after "irresponsible" City bankers.
BoE survey confirms household squeeze
The results of a survey of household finances, published on Monday by the Bank of England, finds that 71% of British homeowners and tenants have experienced declines in their disposable income in September compared with the same month last year.
Britons lower inflation expectations
The British public significantly lowered its inflation expectations, the latest Inflation Attitudes Survey from the Bank of England reveals.
Bank's City ambassador gets the nod for deputy
Paul Tucker, the executive director responsible for markets at the Bank of England, will replace Sir John Gieve as the deputy governor responsible for financial stability.
Lessons of Northern Rock
A paper from the Bank of Finland analyses the failure to stop the run on Northern Rock and considers what should be done to help prevent the recurrence of such episodes in the future.
Co-movements highlight policy stance
Low-frequency co-movements between inflation and money growth, and short-term interest rates and money growth shed light on a central bank's monetary policy stance, states a paper from the Bank of England.