Monetary policy
Bank of England maintains interest rates at 3.75%
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted to maintain the Bank's repo rate at 3.75% on 4 December. The minutes of the meeting will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 17 December.
BoE likely to pause after recent rate rise
The Bank of England is expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Thursday 4 December, AFP reports, after raising them last month. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee began its two- day meeting on Wednesday 3 December.
Barker on UK monetary policy in a changing world
In a speech on 'UK monetary policy in a changing world' given on 20 November, Kate Barker of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee said some of the major risks which face the MPC, and which have made recent decisions very finely-balanced, stem…
BoE's Barker- Debt rise wouldn't make hike certain
Kate Barker, a member of the Bank of England's interest rate setting MPC, said in a speech on Thursday 20 November, reported by Reuters, that the fundamental reason for the recent increase in UK interest rates was not curbing consumer debt or house price…
Bank of England MPC Minutes 5/6 November 2003
Minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee Meeting were released on 19 November for the meeting of 5 and 6 November 2003. The minutes showed the MPC voted 8-1 in favour of raising interest rates to 3.75%. The only dissenter was Marian…
Bank of England voted 8-1 for rate hike
Minutes from the Bank of England's last monetary policy meeting released on Wednesday 19 November showed an 8-1 vote in favour of increasing interest rates 0.25%, Reuters reports. Marian Bell, who has been labelled a dove on the MPC was the only member…
Investment portfolio techniques at a central bank
Etienne Lavigne discusses the appropriate reserve management framework and mix of portfolio techniques for a central bank.
Bank of England MPC Minutes 8/9 October 2003
Minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee Meeting were released on 22 October for the meeting of 8 and 9 October 2003. Deputy governor Andrew Large, executive director Paul Tucker and external MPC members Kate Barker and Stephen Nickell,…
Minutes show BoE came close to rate increase
Minutes from the Bank of England's October Monetary Policy Committee meeting published on Wednesday 22 October showed four of the nine members, including deputy governor Andrew Large, voted for an increase in interest rates, according to Reuters. The…
Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 11 and 12 September 2003, released 16 October. Members agreed that economic activity still continued to be virtually flat as a whole, although signs of improvement had been observed in such areas…
BoE holds UK interest rates steady at 3.5 pct
As most analysts predicted, the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged for the third month running on Thursday 9 October at 3.5 per cent, Reuters reported.
Central banks: What to achieve & how to get there
This article in the Independent newspaper says that underneath it all, central bankers are ordinary folk, and they, too, face difficulties in achieving what they want. At the Bank of England, the Monetary Policy Committee's life has been relatively short…
Bank of England MPC Minutes 3/4 September 2003
Minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee Meeting were released on 17 September for the meeting of 3 and 4 September 2003. The minutes showed that the MPC voted 9-0 in favour of holding the repo rate at 3.5%.
MPC minutes point to UK interest rates rise
Bank of England minutes released September 17 show that for a majority on the MPC, it was a "clear-cut" decision to leave rates unchanged in September. The decision to hold the Bank's main interest rate at 3.5 per cent was decisive, but for some members…
Bank of England holds key rate steady
The Bank of England maintained interest rates at 3.5% on Thursday 3 September, as widely expected, reports Associated Press.
Egyptian cb reorganised
The Egyptian government has slimmed down the decision-making body of the Central Bank of Egypt, appointing a new seven-member committee to set short-term monetary policy and supervise the banking sector. This structure replaces the previous board of 11…
Bank of England Minutes 6 & 7 August
Bank of England Minutes for meetings of 6 & 7 August in which the MPC voted unanimously to leave rates on hold.
Paper: monetary policy rules with uncertainty
What happens to Taylor rules when uncertainty in the economy increases? A recent paper by Gabriel Srour of the Bank of Canada addresses this question and analyses how the rule changes when uncertainty and time lags increase.
Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 25 June 2003, released 13 August. Members exchanged views on a numerical target for price stability. One member stressed that the Bank should make a stronger commitment to overcome deflation, and…
Bank of England maintains interest rates at 3.5%
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the Bank's repo rate at 3.5%, 7 August.
UK interest rates left unchanged
The Bank of England left interest rates unchanged on Thursday at 3.5 per cent. The decision was widely predicted, notes the Financial Times, after the MPC made a quarter point cut at its last meeting.
Monetary policy is not the force it was
This article suggests monetary policy does not have much to do with money. There is hard evidence that bank lending is quantitatively the most important channel through which monetary policy affects the economy, but this should not be reassuring it says…
Interview with Bank of England's Paul Tucker
In an interview with Dow Jones, Paul Tucker said that the outlook for the world economy remains uncertain. Tucker, who sits on the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, spoke of a "delicately poised" domestic and international economy but said…
When great minds should not think alike
Committees are not necessarily the best recipe for good policy outcomes, this article in the Financial Times suggests. After Rachel Lomax joined the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee and immediately ruffled some feathers by dissenting from the…