The latest Bank of England quarterly lending survey has revealed lending to British businesses slumped in January.
According to the report, net lending fell by 9.3% during the month – the sharpest decline since records began in 1999.
Banks and building societies lent £6.5 billion in January and followed a drop of £3.4 billion in the previous [...]
Minutes of the Bank of England’s March 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 as [...]
In order to tackle the UK’s deficit, tax hikes could well be on the agenda, according to reports today.
Last week, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne suggested that no new tax rises will be required in order to cut the UK’s ballooning deficit.
However, in a dramatic u-turn, asked by the BBC yesterday if he [...]
Bank of England policymaker, Kate Barker, said the UK is unlikely to return to recession.
In an interview over the weekend, Ms Barker, who is a former housing adviser to the Government, said it is possible, however, that the economy could contract for one quarter.
“It’s possible we will have a quarter when GDP falls, but [...]
The average cost of a two-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to a six-and-a-half-year low during February, according to new figures from the Bank of England.
The average rate stood to 3.88%, down from 3.97% a month earlier to a level last seen in July 2003.
Five-year fixed-rates also eased last month, declining to an average 5.49%, down from [...]
The European Central Bank (ECB) today elected to keep interest rates on hold at the historic low of 1% for the tenth consecutive month, as widely expected.
Interest rates are expected to remain on hold until at least 2011, as a result of uneven growth and low inflation.
ECB President, Jean-Claude Trichet, said: “Overall, the governing council [...]