Markets

Sterling continues upward march

Sterling continues upward march. The pound bashed through $1.36 against the dollar on Friday (am 15/09/17) as the FTSE 100 falls back. Will it hold on to these gains?  

Finance

UK interest rate held at 0.25%

UK interest rate held at 0.25% The Bank of England (BoE) has held UK interest rates at 0.25% Interest rates could rise faster than expected after 7-2 vote to hold. Sterling The pound jumped against the dollar ($1.3280) FTSE 100 fell on the news sharply to 7316 – a fall …

News

Bank of England interest rate announcement due

Bank of England interest rate announcement due. At midday today (14/09/17) the Bank of England will announce its latest interest rate decision. The minutes from the Monetary Policy Committee meeting will also be published. Hawks or Doves to win? I will update the interest rate decision later.    

News

Bank failure – 10 years ago today

Bank failure – 10 years ago today. It was exactly ten years ago today on the 14th September 2007 that Northern Rock succumbed to the banking crisis. The Bank of England propped the lender up leading to the first run on a British bank in more than a century. We …

Finance

UK consumer credit

UK consumer credit Latest figures from the Bank of England (BoE) show UK consumer credit rose by 9.8% and is now at £201.5 billion. This figure excludes mortgage lending. That’s high, even though it was the lowest since April 2016. Debt in the UK and globally is unsustainably high! Is …

Finance

Interest rates low – 10 Year Anniversary

Interest rates low – 10 Year Anniversary It’s been ten years since the last UK interest rate raise. On 5th July 2007 the Bank of England raised rates to 5.75% and now, ten years later, the rate is 0.25% with the next UK rate decision due on 3rd August 2017. …