MPC preview: Data and the Fed
As per Robin’s Fed post, here is a quick summary of the issues for the November Monetary Policy Committee meeting. Current policy rate: 0.5 per cent Current unorthodox measures: £200bn of assets...
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“Bring back Dave Ramsden”
These are the clearly audible words spoken by Michael Fallon, member of the Treasury Select Committee, to Andrew Tyrie, the Committee chairman at the end of the evidence given by Robert Chote, new...
View ArticleBean here before
Apologies for the terrible pun. The point is that Charlie Bean’s speech today could have been delivered in mid 2008. If fact, the Bank’s deputy governor did deliver a very similar speech in April 2008....
View ArticleWhen bad news is good for some
For those following the UK’s economic recovery, there is little to cheer in today’s closely-watched indicator of the services sector. For the Bank of England, there is every reason to be pleased. The...
View ArticleMPC preview: 13 January 2011
Current policy rate: 0.5 per cent Consensus expectation: no change Inflation target: 2 per cent “at all times” CPI inflation rate: 3.3 per cent in November Notable special measures in operation...
View ArticleWords or deeds at the MPC?
Adam Posen’s speech today – in which he argues for more quantitative easing and new forms of QE – raises two important issues which I will cover in two posts. Here I will discuss words and deeds at the...
View ArticleBoE minutes: The other policy options
The minutes of the September Monetary Policy Committee meeting make QE2 a matter of when, not if. However, as FT Alphaville’s Neil Hume writes, the MPC also discussed three other options. From the...
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The new man on the MPC
Ian McCafferty, who has replaced Adam Posen on the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, appeared before the House of Commons’ Treasury Select Committee this morning. The hearing provided some...
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Broadbent: focus on jobs, not output
Last Friday the FT’s economics editor Chris Giles took issue with the use of “the Niesr chart”, so-called because of its frequent publication by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research,...
View ArticleAn honest argument for a dual mandate
Asked today whether the Treasury should scrap the Bank of England’s 2 per cent inflation target, former policy maker and current central banking guru Charles Goodhart said no. The target, he said, had...
View ArticleBlanchflower’s rant
Former Monetary Policy Committee member David Blanchflower opens the lid on the secretive Bank of England. Some great lines, which will make Mervyn King, Bank governor, choke on his cornflakes - but...
View ArticleTwo BoE titbits…
If the Bank of England decides to reduce the rate of interest it pays on reserves deposited by commercial banks, it's not yet clear whether the MPC or executive will make the call. Chris Giles of the...
View ArticleThe Bank’s QE contradictions
Chris Giles of the Financial Times asks, if the Bank of England's policies are so successful, why does it say the recovery be slow and why might there be a need to shovel even more newly created money...
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UK: Vacancy on MPC due May 31
The Treasury expects a short vacancy on the monetary policy committee following the announcement that Kate Barker is to step down at the end of her term on May 31. Ms Barker is serving her third term...
View ArticleDoes the BoE fiddle its forecasts too?
With all the furore over the OBR’s tweaked Budget forecasts, scrutiny of the Bank of England’s fallible forecasts has been more limited than usual. So David (Danny) Blanchflower, former Monetary Policy...
View ArticleThe MPC: when no clue is a view
The minutes of the July Monetary Policy Committee meeting, just published, show rate setters at the Bank of England have no view about the Budget’s likely effect on the economy and hence inflation. A 7...
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UK economy: A worsening inflation-growth trade-off
There were some very good presentations at the Monetary Policy Forum, organised by Fathom Consulting this morning, all of which highlighted what a difficult job the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy...
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MPC preview: the Bank’s options
A crunch meeting of the monetary policy committee on Wednesday will reveal the Bank of England’s verdict on the new coalition government and the emergency Budget. Will the MPC judge the proposed...
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Safety first for Martin Weale on the MPC
Martin Weale, the new boy on the Monetary Policy Committee, has just finished giving evidence to the Treasury Select Committee on his recent appointment. He was safe and boring. Bank of England...
View ArticleTrench warfare on the MPC
The recent battle of words on the MPC translated into a 1-7-1 vote at the October meeting with Adam Posen voting to increase quantitative easing by £50bn over an unspecified period and Andrew Sentance...
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