The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is tomorrow expected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5% for the 18th consecutive month. Furthermore, all members of the MPC are expected to keep the quantitative easing programme (QE) on hold. QE, also known as printing money, is a [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today announced Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) fell to 3.4% in May – down from the 17-month high of 3.7% in April. While the level still far exceeds the 2% target, the drop was quicker than the 3.5% many analysts had expected. The Bank of England’s Governor, Mervyn King, [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is tomorrow expected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5% for the 16th consecutive month. Furthermore, all nine members of the MPC are expected to keep the quantitative easing programme (QE) on hold. QE, also known as printing money, is [...]
Mervyn King, the Bank of England’s Governor, has turned down a pay rise worth more than £15,000, according to the Bank’s annual report. The report, published today, revealed Mr King waived his right to a pay rise and comes just a few weeks before the Government is expected to announce severe spending cuts in an [...]
Minutes of the Bank of England’s May meeting have been released today and have revealed that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously earlier this month to keep interest rates at the historic low of 0.5%. Furthermore, all nine members of the MPC opted to keep the quantitative easing (QE) on hold. QE, also known [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today announced Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose to 3.7% in April – the highest level in 17 months and far exceeding the 2% target. Furthermore, the increase was much higher than analysts’ expectations. The rise was boosted by food, fuel and clothing price gains. Annual food inflation reached [...]
In its latest Inflation Report, the Bank of England is predicting that inflation would remain above the 2% target for the remainder of 2010. Last month, it was revealed the UK’s rate of inflation rose to 3.4% in March, up from 3% in February. The CPI inflation rate is a benchmark for the Bank of [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is scheduled to announce the UK inflation rate tomorrow morning, with analysts expecting the annual rate to be around 3.1%. Last month, the ONS reported Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose to a 14-month high of 3.5% in January – a figure that was expected by analysts. The rise was [...]
Mervyn King, the Bank of England’s Governor, has today appeared before the Treasury Select Committee to discuss the latest inflation figures and the issues surrounding the UK’s economy. Last week, the Office for National Statistics revealed Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose to a 14-month high of 3.5% in January, driven by higher petrol costs and [...]
The Office for National Statistics has today announced that Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose to a 14-month high of 3.5% in January – as widely expected. The rise in inflation has been driven by higher petrol costs and the effects of the reduction in the standard rate of VAT. Meanwhile, CPI fell 0.2% on the [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) will announce the UK inflation rate this morning, which analysts are expecting to be around 3.5%. Last month, the ONS reported that Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose at its fastest annual pace in 9 months in December, rising to an annual rate to 2.9%. The rise was driven by [...]
The UK’s official rate of inflation increased to 2.9% in December 2009, up from just 1.1% three months earlier. The rise was driven by higher petrol costs and the effects of the reduction in the standard rate of VAT a year earlier dropping out of the twelve-month comparison. In it quarterly inflation report, the Bank [...]
The Office for National Statistics has today announced that Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose for the first time in eight months to 1.5% in October from a 5-year low of 1.1% in September. The rise was not unexpected after a sharp fall in transport costs last year was not repeated this year and because fuel [...]
Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member, Adam Posen, has warned that the UK is facing a Japan-style lost decade. Japan, which is the world’s second largest economy, endured a so-called “Lost Decade” in the 1990s, whereby economic expansion grinds to a halt. In a speech, Mr Posen warned that Britain’s dysfunctional banking system [...]
Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, warned last night that a major rethink of how banks are structured is required. Addressing Scottish business leaders in Edinburgh last night, Mr King’s comments came after it was announced that public finances suffered their worst six months on record between April and September. In his speech, Mr King [...]
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, has fallen from 1.8% to 1.6% in August – the lowest level since February 2005, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today. Many analysts had expected it to fall to 1.4%. The fall in CPI was driven by lower food costs, with the price [...]
Gerard Lyons, chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank, is predicting that interest rates could remain at historically low levels for many years to come. Interest rates currently stand at 0.5% – the lowest level since the Bank of England was established over 300 years ago. According to Mr Lyons, it is quite likely that the [...]
Minutes of the Bank of England’s August meeting have been released and revealed that the Bank of England’s Governor, Mervyn King, wanted to inject more cash into the economy but was outvoted by fellow policymakers. Quantitative easing (QE) also known as printing money, is a process whereby the Treasury injects funds into the financial system [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is due to release the latest UK inflation figures today with analysts expecting a decline, albeit the rapid falls seen of late are expected to ease. Last month, the ONS revealed that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, had fallen to an annual rate of [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
BoE Governor: Growth to resume in Q3
The Bank of England’s Governor, Mervyn King, has said today that there are signs that the UK economy is expanding again. The announcement will provide hope that the UK will follow France and Germany and exit recession by experiencing positive growth. However, in comments made to the Treasury Select Committee, Mr King expressed caution and [...]