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☆ Bank of England chief hints the market could be getting it right on rate cuts
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON — Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey on Thursday signaled that financial markets may be correct in their expectations for the future path of rate cuts. Speaking to CNBC, Bailey said he was "not going to commit" to a specific timeline for rate cuts, but added that he did not object to the market consensus. "I'm not going to give a view on how many cuts there'll be and when they will be. But I think that view that the market is taking is not one I object to," he told CNBC's Steve Sedgwick. Investors priced in four rate cuts by the end of this year after the central bank voted to hold interest rates steady at 5.25% earlier Thursday.

Persons: Andrew Bailey, BOE, Bailey, I'm, CNBC's Steve Sedgwick Organizations: Bank of England, City of, LONDON — Bank of England, CNBC, Monetary Locations: City, City of London

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri prosecutor now believes that inmate Marcellus Williams is innocent of the crime that landed him on death row and very nearly cost him his life, and he is seeking to overturn Williams' conviction. Gayle, a social worker and one-time St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter, was killed at her home in 1998. Williams’ girlfriend asked him why he would wear a jacket on such a hot day. They cited testimony from Henry Cole, who shared a St. Louis cell with Williams in 1999 while Williams was jailed on unrelated charges. Last February, a St. Louis judge overturned the conviction of Lamar Johnson, who spent nearly 28 years in prison for a killing he always said he didn't commit.

Persons: Marcellus Williams, Williams, Wesley Bell, Lisha Gayle, Gayle, Louis, hasn't, Andrew Bailey didn't, Eric Greitens, Mike Parson, Bell, Parson, Greitens, Henry Cole, Cole, Kevin Strickland, Lamar Johnson, didn't, —, Johnson —, “, ”, Johnson Organizations: LOUIS, —, Louis Post, Dispatch, Innocence, Republican, Prosecutors, Authorities Locations: Missouri, Louis, Kansas City, St

☆ UK inches closer to technical recession as growth is revised down
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-22 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Data due out in February will show whether the U.K. has entered a technical recession — defined as when the economy shrinks for two consecutive quarters. There was also zero growth in the prior three months, the new figures showed, down from the 0.2% growth previously calculated. LONDON — The U.K. is edging closer to recession after revised figures showed the economy shrank in the previous quarter. Certainly, Rishi Sunak's pledge to grow the economy is now severely in doubt," he said. A near-term drop in interest rates would be a win for Sunak's government, as the U.K. enters an election year.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Richard Carter, Cheviot, Rishi Sunak's, Rishi Sunak, Downing, Andrew Bailey Organizations: Office, National Statistics, LONDON, Bank of England

☆ Central bank blunders undermine tough rate talk
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Comments by central bankers underline their desire to keep interest rates high until price growth quiesces. Policymakers’ recent mistakes mean they will struggle to convince investors their tough talk is real. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell says his fellow policymakers are “not thinking about rate cuts at all”. In May, after another U.S. regional bank failure, markets concluded that the Fed’s rate hike at the beginning of that month would be its last. Respected central bankers might be able to convince markets that these numbers don’t portend imminent rate cuts.

Persons: Jay Powell, Christine Lagarde, Andrew Bailey, Powell, backtrack, –, Lagarde, Treasuries, BoE, Bailey, Ben Bernanke, Jacob Frenkel, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Traders, U.S . Federal, European Central Bank, Bank of England, titans, Deutsche Bank, Treasury, Reuters Graphics Reuters, LSEG, Silicon Valley Bank, Fed, ECB, Bank of Israel, Federal Reserve, European, Thomson Locations: Silicon, Bailey, United States, Ukraine, Central

☆ UK's FTSE 100 lags regional peers as banks, insurers fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) index dipped 0.1%, while the pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) rose 0.5%. The life insurance sector (.FTNMX303010) fell 0.4%, with Prudential (PRU.L) slipping 0.7% after Deutsche Bank reduced its price target on the stock. Banks (.FTNMX301010) slipped 1.7% following a 2.3% fall in HSBC (HSBA.L), which was the biggest weight on the FTSE 100. Among individual stocks Halfords Group (HFD.L) plunged 21.1% after the bicycles-to-car parts retailer narrowed its annual profit forecast range. Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil and Eileen SorengOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Toby Melville, Andrew Bailey, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, Eddie Cheng, Banks, Shashwat Chauhan, Dhanya Ann Thoppil, Eileen Soreng Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, REUTERS, Aviva, Bank of England, Prudential, Deutsche Bank, U.S . Federal Reserve, Allspring Global Investments, HSBC, Halfords, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, Europe, United States, Bengaluru

☆ Morning Bid: Waller to Wall St, Fed's on the turn
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

A street sign for Wall Street is seen in the financial district in New York, U.S., November 8, 2021. But back in the markets, the Fed's policy pivot was all the rage as Treasury yields and dollar plunged anew. New York Fed chief John Williams said long-term inflation expectations were anchored, reassuring and "remarkably stable". Fed futures now have the first Fed rate cut of a quarter point fully priced for May and 110bps of rate cuts by year-end. Two-year Treasury yields plunged more than 15 basis points to four-month lows of 4.66% on Wednesday, with 10-year yields hitting their lowest since mid-September - a startling drop of more than 75bps in little over a month.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Mike Dolan, Wall, Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway's Munger, Warren Buffett, Christopher Waller, Jerome Powell, Waller, John Williams, Austan Goolsbee, Michelle Bowman, Powell, Stocks, smartly, Hong, Thomas Barkin, Loretta Mester, Andrew Bailey, BoE, Andrew Hauser, Blinken, Sergey Lavrov, Jane Merriman Organizations: Wall, REUTERS, Federal Reserve, Waller . New York Fed, Chicago Fed, HK, Austria's, Holdings, Richmond Fed, Cleveland Fed, Bank of England, London, Russian, Foods, Intuit, Petco, Thomson, Reuters Locations: New York, U.S, Berkshire, Waller ., China, Europe, Vienna, North Macedonia

☆ BoE's Bailey says getting inflation to 2% will be 'hard work'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey addresses the media during a press conference concerning interest rates, at the Bank of England, in London, Britain, November 2, 2023. "The rest of it has to be done by policy and monetary policy," Bailey said in an interview with website ChronicleLive published on Monday. The second half, from there to two, is hard work and obviously we don't want to see any more damage." Bailey acknowledged the impact of higher interest rates on households caused by higher mortgages and rents. But he repeated his message that it was too soon for the BoE to think about cutting interest rates.

Persons: Bank of England Andrew Bailey, HENRY NICHOLLS, Andrew Bailey, Bailey, ChronicleLive, BoE, it's, William Schomberg, Sarah Young Organizations: Bank of England, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ Bank of England needs reform, damning new report from lawmakers finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England (BOE), during the Monetary Policy Report news conference at the bank's headquarters in the City of London, UK, on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. LONDON — The Bank of England's current remit risks it becoming entangled with wider government policy aims and jeopardizes its ability to focus on bringing down inflation, a scathing report by senior U.K. lawmakers released Monday says. The report also said the BOE and other central banks are suffering from a lack of "intellectual diversity" that have led to forecasting failures. The report was launched after U.K. inflation soared to a 41-year high through fall 2022, hitting a peak of 11.1% year-on-year in late 2022, one of the most severe levels of all developed economies. The Lords report, which was compiled through the collection of written evidence and panel interviews, notes that all central banks made mistakes in characterising inflation in 2021 as "transitory."

Persons: Andrew Bailey, BOE Organizations: Bank of England, City of, LONDON, of, Economic Affairs, U.S Locations: City, City of London

☆ UK consumer confidence jumps despite lingering inflation pain
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Despite lingering cost-of-living pressures, GfK's headline consumer confidence index was stronger than anticipated in November, increasing to -24 from October's three-month low of -30. November's reading was above the -28 forecast in a Reuters poll of economists, and follows a sharp fall the month before. While British consumer price inflation fell significantly from a 41-year high of 11.1% just over a year ago to 4.6% in October, households are still grappling with the highest inflation rate among major rich economies. Official data published last week showed shoppers spent less in October as finances remain stretched. GfK conducted its poll of 2,000 people from Nov. 1 to Nov. 14.

Persons: GfK, Joe Staton, Andrew Bailey, Jeremy Hunt's, Staton, Suban Abdulla, David Milliken Organizations: Bank of England, Thomson

☆ Dollar General is overcharging customers at checkout in several states, according to lawsuits and customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Customers and state governments have accused Dollar General of overcharging for various products. Additionally, two Dollar General customers and two employees told Business Insider they'd been overcharged or had seen customers overcharged in Florida, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Alabama. High turnover and reduced hours for Dollar General employees have led to merchandise crowding aisles, creating safety hazards. The state's Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection said inspectors had found that Dollar General stores overcharged customers for 9% of products the inspectors evaluated. In North Carolina, Dollar General paid nearly $71,000 in fines related to its pricing practices from August 2022 to April 2023.

Persons: —, they'd, Andrew Bailey, Catherine, she'd Organizations: Service, Dollar, Business, state's Department of Agriculture, Trade, Consumer Protection Locations: Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, Vermont, North Carolina, Florida , Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Alabama, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Florida

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Conservative government will try to win favor with voters by cutting taxes but avoiding worsening inflation in a budget statement Wednesday, coming ahead of a likely national election next year that opinion polls suggest it will lose. Sunak said Monday that his government would “cut tax and reward hard work” but would “avoid doing anything that puts at risk our progress in controlling inflation." Political Cartoons View All 1262 Images“Now that inflation is halved and our growth is stronger — meaning revenues are higher — we can begin the next phase and turn our attention to cutting tax,” he said. The election must be held by January 2025, with speculation focusing on May or sometime next fall. Arguably, cutting personal taxes will make that “journey” more difficult because it would likely raise consumer spending, thereby ratcheting up price pressures.

Persons: —, Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Jeremy Hunt's, ”, “, ” Sunak, Liz Truss, Hunt, There's, hasn't, “ Hunt, Kallum Pickering, Andrew Bailey Organizations: Conservative, Conservative Party, Labour Party, Bank of, Bank of England Locations: Ukraine, Berenberg

☆ X sues Media Matters over report about ads appearing next to Nazi posts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( David Ingram | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk's social media company, X, sued Media Matters for America and one of its staff members Monday over an investigative report the progressive watchdog organization published saying Nazi content ran on the X app alongside advertisements from major corporations. News of the lawsuit coincided with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's announcing an investigation into Media Matters for possible fraudulent activity. Media Matters President Angelo Carusone said the website would defend itself. Media Matters stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court," he said in a statement. In the lawsuit, X alleges that Media Matters' portrayal of the app is untrue because its article did not reflect what typical users see.

Persons: Elon, Ken Paxton's, Paxton, Musk, Andrew Bailey, Bailey, Angelo Carusone, X Organizations: Media Matters, America, Texas, Media, Missouri, Apple, IBM, Comcast, NBCUniversal, NBC, X Corp Locations: Fort Worth , Texas

☆ Legal experts blast Elon Musk filing lawsuit in Texas against Media Matters
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“The complaint admits that the thing Media Matters was making a big deal about actually happened,” Vladeck said. According to Musk, Media Matters established a test account following extremist material and then refreshed the feed until X’s ad system displayed an ad for major brands. “It’s one of those lawsuits that’s filed more for symbolism than for substance.”Media Matters’ responseIn a statement Monday evening, Media Matters President Angelo Carusone vowed to defend the group against the suit. “Media Matters stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court.”Some legal experts suggested that Media Matters’ first course of action may be to try to move the case out of the Texas federal court. “Musk and his lawyers seek to isolate Media Matters’ investigation as the sole reason major advertisers have joined the exodus from X.

Persons: Elon, “, Ted Boutrous, Boutrous, Steve Vladeck, ” Vladeck, Mark Pittman, Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s, X, ’ ”, Joan Donovan, ” Akiva Cohen, Klein, Musk, ’ ” Cohen, ” Cohen, Ken Paxton, Andrew Bailey, ”, that’s, Angelo Carusone, ” Carusone, Ken White, “ X, ” White, Nora Benavidez, “ Musk, ” Benavidez, – CNN’s Oliver Darcy, Jon Passantino Organizations: CNN, Media, X, Twitter, University of Texas, Court, Northern, Northern District of, Nazi, Musk, Boston University, YouTube, Elon, Texas, ”, “, Washington , D.C, District of, Free Press Locations: Texas, Northern District, Northern District of Texas, Kamerman, New York, Missouri, California, Washington ,, District of Columbia, Los Angeles

☆ Morning Bid: Thanksgiving starters of AI and oil
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsA look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan. Thanksgiving may make for a clipped U.S. markets week, but there's plenty to chew on around the world before then - and a feast of intrigue in the artificial intelligence space. His plans include shutting the central bank, ditching the peso and dollarizing the economy and slashing spending with potentially painful reforms. The risk premium between German and Italian 10-year yields tightened to 170 bps - the lowest since Sept. 21.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Mike Dolan, Sam Altman, That's, thrall, Javier Milei, Milei, Jeremy Hunt, Andrew Bailey ,, Francois Villeroy de, Pablo Hernandez de Cos, Ed Osmond Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Microsoft, Big Tech, Nvidia, Treasury, Federal Reserve, Bank, Bayer, Federal Reserve Bank of England, Andrew Bailey , Bank of France, Bank of Spain, Technologies, Keysight Technologies, Holdings Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, OPEC, Tokyo, Europe, Canada, Francois Villeroy de Galhau

☆ UK inflation has halved this year but economic growth remains elusive
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —UK inflation plunged to its lowest level in two years in October, allowing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to declare victory on his pledge to halve the rate of price increases this year. Services inflation fell but remained high, at 6.6%. “The UK economy is still very much facing stagflation and, in our view, the road ahead will likely continue to be bumpy,” said Julien Lafargue, chief market strategist at Barclays Private Bank. Stagflation refers to a toxic mix of high inflation and low, or no, economic growth. There is also evidence that higher interest rates are placing an increasing strain on the economy.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, “, ” Sunak, Gary Smith, GMB, ”, Andrew Bailey, Alex Veitch, Sunak’s, —, Julien Lafargue, ” Ewan Mackay, Jeremy Hunt, Veitch Organizations: London CNN —, National Statistics, Bank of England, Chambers of Commerce, “, Barclays Private Bank, NatWest, Accenture, P, British Chambers of Commerce Locations: United Kingdom, Ireland, British

☆ Morning Bid: Oil-fueled rally turns to Powell
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell answers a question during a press conference following a closed two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy at the Federal Reserve in Washington, U.S., November 1, 2023. And that's hit home by dragging U.S. pump prices down to levels not seen since March. Overall, U.S. 10-year yields remained on the back foot at 4.57% first thing and ahead of Wednesday's auction. Although Asian and European stocks fell back a bit, Wall St stock futures were unchanged before the bell. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Kevin Lamarque, Mike Dolan, who's, Christine Lagarde, Andrew Bailey, Michelle Bowman, Austan Goolsbee, Christopher Waller, BoE, Ping, Donald Trump, White, Philip Jefferson, Michael Barr, Lisa Cook, John Williams, Joachim Nagel, Walt Disney, Ralph Lauren, Toby Chopra Organizations: Federal Reserve, Federal, Committee, REUTERS, Mike Dolan Wall, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Atlanta, Fed, Chicago Fed, St, Reuters, Ping An Insurance, HK, New York Fed, Warner Bros Discovery, MGM Resorts, Biogen, Energy, Treasury, Federal Reserve Bank of New, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, U.S, Gaza, Tokyo, Ohio, Kentucky, Brussels, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

☆ Morning Bid: Waiting for word from the Fed chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell answers a question at a press conference following a closed two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy at the Federal Reserve in Washington, U.S., November 1, 2023. Last week's surprisingly soft jobs data heightened expectations that interest rates had peaked, but Fed commentary since then has warned against complacency in the fight against inflation. For now, investors have dialled up wagers on near-term rate cuts, with the Fed funds rate showing better than 50/50 odds for one as early as May. In Asia time, long-term Treasury yields are stuck around 4.58% and the dollar is biding its time around $1.07 per euro. While the Fed outlook dominates investors' attention, there is plenty of central bank speak in store from Europe as well.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Kevin Lamarque, Kevin Buckland, Jay Powell, Christine Lagarde, Philip Lane, Joachim Nagel, Pablo Hernandez de Cos, Andrew Bailey, Fed's Powell, Lagarde, BoE's Bailey, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Federal, Committee, Federal Reserve, REUTERS, Kevin, Kevin Buckland Markets, Reuters Graphics, Bank of Spain, Bank of England, Adidas, Airbus, Bayer, Continental, Credit Agricole, Federal Reserve Division of Research, Statistics, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Asia, Europe, Germany, Brussels, Irish

☆ UK stocks fall as real estate shares drop; economic data on tap
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Shubham Batra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies Real estate shares top losersMelrose surges after unit signs deal with GE AerospaceFTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 off 0.4%Nov 6 (Reuters) - UK stocks inched lower on Monday led by a drop in shares of real estate investment trusts, while investors awaited key economic data to assess the strength of the British economy. The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 (.FTSE) edged 0.1% lower, while the mid-cap index FTSE 250 (.FTMC) fell 0.4% after logging its best week in a year on Friday. Shares of real estate investment trusts (.FTNMX351020) shed 1.2% after the index tracking real estate stocks rose sharply last week. Other economic data this week includes housing prices, construction and services activity for October. Reporting by Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K and Eileen SorengOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Toby Melville, Sanjay Raja, Andrew Bailey, Shubham Batra, Varun, Eileen Soreng Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, City of, REUTERS, Real, Melrose, GE Aerospace FTSE, Aerospace, Melrose Industries, GKN Aerospace, GE Aerospace, Deutsche Bank, Bank of England, Wizz, Ryanair, JD Sports, Citigroup, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, Irish, Bengaluru

☆ Tyson plant closures prompt economic soul-searching in the Ozarks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( J.J. Mccorvey | Brian Cheung | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

When Tyson Foods announced in August that it was closing its 1,500-worker chicken plant in Noel, Missouri, residents knew the rural town would be hit hard. Tyson didn't immediately comment on its compensation of former Noel employees. said Corina Chinchilla, 32, who worked for 13 years at the Noel plant, ultimately becoming a production supervisor for packaging chicken breasts and tenders. Other Tyson workers, like Ryan Coulter, 27, declined to move. State and federal officials, wary of economic fallout in the region, have pressed Tyson to sell some of the sites it's vacating.

Persons: Tyson, —, Jimi Lasiter, I'm, Lasiter, hadn't, Tyson didn't, Noel, Joe Biden, Corina Chinchilla, I've, didn't, Chinchilla, David Handy, Handy didn't, Ryan Coulter, Coulter, Terry Lance, Harry S, he'd, Lance, Sen, Josh Hawley, Andrew Bailey, Hawley, Donnie King Organizations: Tyson Foods, Bowling, NBC News, Value Foods, Amazon, Costco, Truman Coordinating Council, Missouri Independent Locations: Noel , Missouri, Danville , Virginia, Bowling Green , Kentucky, Monett , Missouri, Noel, Neosho, Ozark, Rock , Arkansas, Arkansas, Little Rock, Missouri, Texas, Somalia, United States, Dexter

☆ Europe stocks open higher, head for best week since March after central bank pauses
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Stoxx 600 opened 0.3% higher led by autos stocks, up 1.1%. The index gained 1.6% on Thursday, and is heading for its best week-on-week performance since the end of March, according to LSEG data. European stock markets opened higher on Friday, rounding off a weekly rally powered by a series of solid earnings and a perceived dovish tilt by central banks. The Bank of England held rates for a second consecutive meeting. Like Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank — which last week also held rates steady — he said it was too early to talk about rate cuts and that risks to inflation remain.

Persons: BOE Governor Andrew Bailey, Christine Lagarde Organizations: Federal Reserve, Bank of, CNBC, European Central Bank Locations: U.S, Bank of England

☆ Analysis: November is typically the best month for stocks. So far, it’s looking promising
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The S&P 500 on Thursday climbed 1.9% to log its best one-day gain since April. The S&P 500 has gained an average 6.7% from November to April since 1990, according to CFRA data. “We remain comfortable with our long-standing 3,900 year-end target for the S&P 500,” he wrote in a note on October 29. The S&P 500 closed Thursday at about 4,318. “The acquisition of Comcast’s stake in Hulu at fair market value will further Disney’s streaming objectives,” the company said in a short statement.

Persons: Jerome Powell’s, ”, George Smith, Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley, Liam Reilly, Oliver Darcy, “, Read, Hanna Ziady, Andrew Bailey Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Investors, Dow Jones, Dow, Federal, Treasury, LPL, Disney, Hulu Disney, Comcast, Bank of England, of England, ” Bank of England Locations: New York, Hulu, Israel

☆ Bank of England downgrades UK economic forecasts, holds interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —The Bank of England downgraded its forecasts for UK economic growth Thursday and kept interest rates unchanged, even as it warned that the Israel-Hamas war could push up energy prices and inflation won’t return to target for another two years. “There are increasing signs that higher interest rates are weighing on economic activity and we see that in weaker activity data and in a range of business surveys,” Governor Andrew Bailey told reporters. Inflation is still too high,” Bailey said, also pointing to the risk that the Israel-Hamas war could lift energy prices. “We will keep interest rates high enough for long enough to make sure we get inflation all the way back to the 2% target,” he added. Inflation still a concernThe Bank of England expects inflation to continue easing, but warned of risks to that outlook.

Persons: Andrew Bailey, ” Bailey, “, Rishi Sunak, Bailey, ”, Martin Beck Organizations: London CNN —, Bank of England, The, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, of England, Office, National Statistics, The Bank of England, UK Locations: Israel, United Kingdom

☆ Bank of England Holds Rates Steady as Fight Against Inflation Continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Eshe Nelson | More About Eshe Nelson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Bank of England held interest rates at the highest levels in 15 years on Thursday, though policymakers were again divided on the best course of action to stamp out high inflation. Six members of the central bank’s nine-member rate-setting committee voted to keep rates at 5.25 percent amid signs that inflation would continue to ease and the economy was weakening. “Higher interest rates are working and inflation is falling,” Andrew Bailey, the governor of the bank, said in a written statement. The forecasts also highlighted the challenge policymakers face eradicating high inflation, which stuck at 6.7 percent in September. In 2024 and 2025, the inflation rate is expected to be slightly higher than was forecast a few months ago.

Persons: ” Andrew Bailey Organizations: of England

☆ Bank of England set to keep rates at 15-year high despite slowdown signs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The BoE's Monetary Policy Committee is facing an inflation rate more than double that of the euro zone and almost twice the U.S. rate. It voted by only a narrow 5-4 margin in September to halt its run of increases in borrowing costs. But signs of a slowdown in much of the British economy have become clearer since then and some economists say a recession might already be under way. The central bank said in its last set of economic forecasts in August that inflation would only return to 2% in the second quarter of 2025. But Bailey and his MPC colleagues are likely to reiterate that they are ready to raise rates higher if needed.

Persons: BoE, Mike Riddell, Riddell, Andrew Bailey, Bailey, Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, William Schomberg, Catherine Evans Organizations: Bank of England, European Central Bank, U.S . Federal Reserve, Allianz Global Investors, BoE, MPC, Conservative Party, Thomson Locations: U.S

☆ Bank of England governor says Israel-Hamas conflict poses risks to inflation fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said Thursday that the ongoing Israel-Hamas war poses a potential risk to the bank's efforts to bring down inflation. "So far, I would say, we haven't seen a marked increase in energy prices, and that's obviously good," Bailey told CNBC's Joumanna Bercetche. The World Bank warned in a quarterly update Monday that crude oil prices could rise to more than $150 a barrel if the conflict escalates. On Thursday, the bank held interest rates steady once again but said that monetary policy would need to remain tight for an "extended period of time." U.K. inflation came in at 6.7% in September, slightly ahead of expectations and unchanged from the previous month.

Persons: Andrew Bailey, Bailey, CNBC's Joumanna, Brent, It's Organizations: England, CNBC, World Bank, Bank of England, Bank Locations: Israel, London

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