The Bank of England MPC’s decision to keep interest rates on hold this week was widely predicted, but the accompanying language was more hawkish than expected. The clear message was that the Bank no longer has a bias towards further cuts and is now ready to change rates in either direction. This has already triggered a sharp … Continue reading The Bank is right to talk tough on inflation
Tag: interest rates
Spring Statement was yet another missed opportunity
The Chancellor’s Spring Statement sent a signal of “steady as she goes”. Unfortunately, what was really needed is a change of course. There was plenty of party political knockabout, but no major policy announcements and nothing to lift the spirits of consumers or businesses. This might have been fine if all were well. But there is little … Continue reading Spring Statement was yet another missed opportunity
Bank of England remains in the slow lane on rate cuts
The Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates at 3.75% today was no great surprise, but the 5-4 vote was much closer than most had anticipated. Unfortunately, this dovish tilt owes more to rising concerns about growth and jobs than it does to increasing optimism about inflation, even though the two are of course related. In … Continue reading Bank of England remains in the slow lane on rate cuts
Why Labour shouldn’t try to claim credit for the FTSE’s record highs
A couple of weeks ago, the Chancellor was widely criticised for calling the FTSE 100’s climb past 10,000 a “vote of confidence in Britain’s economy”. As many commentators pointed out at the time (including myself), the FTSE 100 is dominated by large global companies, while the more domestically focused FTSE 250 has underperformed. I would … Continue reading Why Labour shouldn’t try to claim credit for the FTSE’s record highs
Plain-speaking Economics 