United Kingdom
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.
BoE's Gieve states case for global action
Ever-more frequent global policy co-ordination will be essential in avoiding future financial crises, Sir John Gieve, the deputy governor responsible for financial stability at the Bank of England, has said.
Bank cuts to historic low
The Bank of England cut interest rates to their lowest level since 1951 on Thursday and stressed that further steps would be needed to prevent a deep recession.
Ex-Bank director to lead offshore review
Michael Foot, a former executive director for supervision at the Bank of England, is to head a review of British offshore financial centres.
Zero rates the only way out: ex-MPC members
Central bankers and global regulators must throw out the rule book on moral hazard, and act rapidly and decisively to fix the global financial meltdown, former members of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee have said.
British PM denies UK close to joining euro
Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, has denied the UK plans to join the eurozone after the European Commission president said Britain was "closer than ever before" to adopting the single currency.