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☆ Bank of England drags Bagehot into the shadows
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

That is no longer tenable, in part because of reforms to bank regulation that shifted activity from traditional lenders to financial market players. These days, the institutions in need of urgent liquidity are just as likely to be pension funds, insurers or hedge funds. The British central bank’s initial ideas make sense, but only solve part of the problem. The central bank can short-circuit the panic by opening the credit taps. Central banks are only just starting to grapple with what it means to be a lender of last resort in that context.

Persons: Walter Bagehot’s, Andrew Hauser, BoE, WALTER, Gurney, Peter Thal Larsen, Streisand Neto, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Bank of England, Reuters Graphics Reuters, U.S, Treasury, Federal Reserve, Pensions, . Treasury, Citadel, Millennium Management, City of, U.S . Federal, Gurney & Company, Victorian, Thomson Locations: British, City, City of London, Basel, Overend, Lombard

☆ Morning Bid: Treasuries on cusp of best month since 2008
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Let's start with Treasuries because, if this were sports, we'd be calling it a comeback for the ages. Now, with some encouraging hints from Fed officials, 10-year notes are poised to celebrate their best month since the 2008 global crash, with yields down 61 basis points for November so far. Yields on two-year paper are down 31 bps just this week, the steepest drop since the U.S. mini-banking crisis in March. The European Union has inflation data of its own later on Thursday and analysts suspect the risks are for a downside surprise following subdued readings from Germany and Spain. The dollar index looks set for its worst month since November last year, with a loss so far of 3.7%.

Persons: Kevin Lamarque, Wayne Cole, Let's, we'd, Governor Waller, dovishness, Powell, Williams, Lagarde, Greene, Governor Bunge, Edmund Klamann Organizations: U.S . Treasury, REUTERS, Fed New, European Union, China PMI, BoE Monetary, CPI, PPI, Chicago PMI, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Wayne, U.S, Germany, Spain, China, BoE, EU, Chicago

☆ 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

☆ China's BOE Technology to set up AMOLED production line worth $8.8 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Nov 28 (Reuters) - BOE Technology Group Co Ltd (000725.SZ) said on Tuesday that it and partners plan to invest 63 billion yuan ($8.81 billion) to set up AMOLED production line in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu. The project's products will mainly be high-end touch screens such as those on laptops and tablets, BOE said in a filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange. ($1 = 7.1527 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: BOE, Louise Heavens Organizations: BOE Technology Group Co, Beijing, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Chengdu, Shenzhen

☆ London stocks fall as investors await more data; Rolls-Royce shines
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A street cleaning operative walks past the London Stock Exchange Group building in the City of London financial district, whilst British stocks tumble as investors fear that the coronavirus outbreak could stall the global economy, in London, Britain, March 9, 2020. The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 0.6% touching a two-week low intraday, while the more domestically-oriented FTSE 250 midcap index (.FTMC) also shed 0.6%. Personal goods (.FTNMX402040) led declines among the major FTSE 350 sectors, with Burberry Group (BRBY.L) falling 2.7% after HSBC reduced the stock's price target. Investors will look ahead to UK mortgage data, inflation prints across the eurozone, and a Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report in the U.S. - the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge - later this week. Man Group (EMG.L) fell 3.2% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the hedge fund manager's stock to "Equal-Weight" from "Overweight".

Persons: Toby Melville, inflation's, Andrew Jones, Janus Henderson, Dave Ramsden, Jonathan Haskel, Pearson, Morgan Stanley, Shashwat Chauhan, Sonia Cheema Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, REUTERS, Royce, Burberry Group, HSBC, PT Pearson, Man, Janus Henderson Investors, Bank of England's, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ How Dmitry Balyasny's $21 billion hedge fund is looking to get ahead in the war for investment talent
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Michelle Abrego | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

One firm he was considering stood out to him: Dmitry Balyasny's namesake hedge fund and its program for up-and-coming portfolio managers, Anthem. Hedge funds are finding that to win the talent wars, it's not enough to have deep pockets to attract portfolio managers. He said that in the past year, $21 billion Balyasny had hired 40 portfolio managers. Its global equities head left in October, as did several other portfolio managers . They operate within a risk framework that is tighter than that imposed on veteran portfolio managers at the firm.

Persons: Sebastiaan De Boe, Dmitry Balyasny's, De Boe, Balyasny, It's, quants, Bridger, it's, they're, Bill Wappler, Wappler, Steve Cohen's Point72, They're, who've, who's, Seb Organizations: Citadel, Business, BAM, Kids Investors Conference, Millennium Management, Equity, Balyasny Asset Management, Balyasny, London Business School Locations: Toronto, Chicago, multistrategy, quant, Europe, London

☆ BoE leads central bank chorus on need for restrictive policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking of the Bank of England Dave Ramsden attends a press conference concerning interest rates, at the Bank of England, in London, Britain, November 2, 2023. Speaking at a central bank conference in Hong Kong, Bank of England (BoE) Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden also said he saw no financial stability grounds to lower interest rates, which are currently up at 5.25%. “We think that monetary policy is likely to need to be restrictive for an extended period of time," he said. Even with all that tightening, Ramsden said inflation was not expected to return to 2% until the end of 2025. Markets have started to position for the first rate cut, with a move seen as soon as April or June.

Persons: Bank of England Dave Ramsden, HENRY NICHOLLS, BoE, Dave Ramsden, Ramsden, Michele Bullock, Bullock, Pablo Hernández de Cos, Cos, Wayne Cole, Selena Li, Xie Yu, Jamie Freed, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Markets, Banking, Bank of England, Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank of Spain, European Central Bank, ECB, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, HONG KONG, Australia, Spain, Hong Kong

☆ Morning Bid: Treasuries gobbled up, oil braces for OPEC
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 17, 2023. Benchmark Treasury yields fell back more than 10 basis points to 4.37% after a total of $109 billion of 2 and 5-year notes hit the Street on Monday without much disruption. Another weak U.S. housing readout, with sub-forecast new home sales last month, perhaps flattered the post-auction moves. That's likely a mixed blessing for Federal Reserve watchers - the continued buoyancy of consumption but with increasing price discrimination. Fed futures priced about 85bps of rate cuts through next year, starting in June, though many major banks expect even more.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Mike Dolan, That's, Hong, Louis, Christopher Waller, Michelle Bowman, Michael Barr, Austan Goolsbee, Christine Lagarde, Philip Lane, Dave Ramsden, BoE, Jonathan Haskel, Hewlett Packard, Ed Osmond Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Treasuries, Treasury, Adobe Digital, Federal Reserve, Louis Fed, U.S . Treasury, Richmond Fed, Dallas Fed, . Treasury, Chicago Fed, European Central Bank, ECB, Bank of England, Citi Trends, Fluence Energy, Reuters, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Asia, Europe, United States, China, New York, St, Uxin, Canaan, Elbit

☆ 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

☆ Australia appoints BoE's Andrew Hauser as new RBA deputy governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Andrew Hauser, who has been appointed the next Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, is seen in this undated handout photo distributed on November 27, 2023. Australian Government/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Australia on Monday appointed the Bank of England's (BoE) Andrew Hauser as the new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), filling a position that had been vacant since Michele Bullock was elevated to the top role in late September. Hauser, who currently serves as the executive director at markets at the BoE, is expected to start before the first RBA board meeting next year. Governor Bullock welcomed the appointment. "I warmly congratulate Andrew on his appointment...He has great experience and will bring a welcome external perspective to the Bank and the Reserve Bank Board."

Persons: Andrew Hauser, BoE, Michele Bullock, Hauser, Governor Bullock, Andrew, Lewis Jackson, Stella Qiu, Kim Coghill, Sam Holmes Organizations: Reserve Bank of Australia, Australian Government, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Monday, Bank of England's, London School of Economics, Bank, Reserve Bank Board, Thomson Locations: Australia

☆ 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

☆ Australia appoints Bank of England's Andrew Hauser as new Reserve Bank of Australia deputy head
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Andrew Hauser, executive director of markets at the Bank of England, has been appointed the new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia. Australia on Monday appointed the Bank of England's, or BoE, Andrew Hauser as the new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, or RBA, filling a position that had been vacant since Michele Bullock was elevated to the top role two months ago. Hauser, the executive director of markets at the BoE, is expected to start his five-year term before the first RBA board meeting next year. "I am humbled and deeply honored to be asked to serve as the RBA's next Deputy Governor," said Hauser, who is British and has 30 years of experience at the BoE. Hauser has a master's degree in economics from the London School of Economics and a degree from Oxford University.

Persons: Andrew Hauser, BoE, Michele Bullock, Hauser Organizations: Bank of England, Reserve Bank of Australia, Monday, Bank of England's, British, London School of Economics, Oxford University Locations: Australia

☆ Bank of England should look more at money supply, lawmakers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A bus passes the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, February 14, 2017. "Climate change is the most-cited example of the expansion of the remit," committee chair George Bridges, a Conservative former Brexit minister, told Reuters. The House of Lords committee set up the inquiry in March, following a surge in inflation to a 41-year high last year. The central bank is midway through its own forecasting review led by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke. The House of Lords committee said parliament should have more opportunity to debate these changes, and should conduct in-depth reviews of the BoE's work every five years.

Persons: Hannah McKay, BoE, Mervyn King, George Bridges, Ben Bernanke, Jeremy Hunt, Bridges, David Milliken, William Schomberg Organizations: Bank of England, City of, REUTERS, Economic Affairs Committee, Conservative, Reuters, U.S . Federal, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, Ukraine

U.S. Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. Deutsche Bank's CVIX (.DBCVIX) - the currency market's version of Wall St's "fear index" of stock volatility and a weighted average of implied "vol" in nine major pairings - has basically imploded. By driving short-term dollar cash rates and U.S. bond yields higher over the past 20 months, the Fed basically sucked cash from the wider investment world and supercharged dollar exchange rates everywhere. Now that it looks done, the buck's finally on the back foot - plumbing levels not seen since August. With implied volatility directionally biased, the dollar index and the CVIX are typically well correlated and both peaked in tandem in same month of September last year.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Deutsche Bank's, Chris Turner, Francesco Pesole, BOJ, BOE, Marcelli, Morgan Stanley, Matthew Hornbach, David Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Deutsche, U.S, ING, Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Bank of Japan, European Central Bank and Bank of England, ECB, UBS Global Wealth, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, U.S . Federal, Japan, U.S

Investors cautioned that tax breaks would not be sufficient to raise business investment while UK interest rates stayed high. But Wednesday, equity markets focused on Hunt's business boosts, such as a move to make full expensing on investment permanent. UK stock markets have underperformed their European and U.S. peers in 2023. The FTSE 100 index 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio is around 10.7, about half that of U.S. stocks, with Hunt's budget unlikely to move the dial too far. Reuters GraphicsSTERLING SOGGYThe pound struggled to gain any traction on the back of Hunt's budget.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Kwasi Kwarteng, Leigh Himsworth, Simon Harvey, Philip Shaw, Thomas McGarrity, Fuller, Smith, Turner, Oli Creasey, It's, BoE, GILTS, Craig Erlam, Goldman Sachs, Naomi Rovnick, Samuel Indyk, Lucy Raitano, Amanda Cooper, Harry Robertson, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Wednesday, Traders, Investors, Fidelity International, Reuters Graphics, Bank of England, BT, Investec, RBC Wealth Management, Reuters, BREWERS, Debt Management, Reuters Graphics STERLING, Thomson Locations: U.S, Cheviot, gilts, London

[1/5] Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt leaves 11 Downing Street for the House of Commons to deliver his autumn statement, in London, Britain, November 22, 2023. "After a global pandemic and energy crisis, we have taken difficult decisions to put our economy back on track," Hunt told parliament on Wednesday in his Autumn Statement fiscal update. Hunt pointed to OBR forecasts showing the government would meet its targets for the public finances, leaving open the possibility of further pre-election giveaways to voters in his full budget statement expected in early 2024. Sunak this week promised "responsible" tax cuts, mindful of last year's "mini-budget" turmoil in financial markets triggered by his predecessor Liz Truss's plans for much bigger tax cuts. This time last year, the newly installed Sunak and Hunt raised taxes sharply to quell the bond market mayhem.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Stefan Rousseau, Hunt, Rishi Sunak's, Paul Johnson, we've, giveaways, Johnson, BoE, Philip Shaw, Liz Truss's, Muvija M, Paul Sandle, Sarah Young, William James, Elizabeth Piper, Alistair Smout, Andrew MacAskill, James Davey, Suban Abdulla, Farouq Suleiman, Kate Holton, Sumanta Sen, William Schomberg, Catherine Evans Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Labour, Labour Party, Institute for Fiscal Studies, Gross, Reuters Graphics, Bank of England, Graphics, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, British

☆ Morning Bid: Oil slide, Walmart stoke disinflation speculation
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oil, miniatures of oil barrels and U.S. dollar banknote are seen in this illustration taken, June 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 17 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole. Asia has been in a contemplative mood so far on Friday after another week of wild swings in bonds, equities and commodities. The market now implies 98 basis points of cuts next year, compared with 73 basis points a week ago. U.S. data on housing starts for OctBy Wayne Cole; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Wayne Cole, Brent, Christine Lagarde, De Cos, BoE's Greene, Ramsden, Barr, Daly, Collins, Muralikumar Organizations: REUTERS, Walmart, Federal Reserve, Westpac, EU, Thomson Locations: Wayne, Asia, Ukraine, Goolsbee .

☆ 'Not convinced' by cryptocurrencies like bitcoin: Former BOE advisor
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via Email'Not convinced' by cryptocurrencies like bitcoin: Former BOE advisorMichael Sheren, former advisor and co-founder of the Bank of England's fintech accelerator program, explains why he remains unconvinced by cryptocurrencies and why stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are the future of digital currencies.

Persons: BOE, Michael Sheren, cryptocurrencies Organizations: Bank of England's, Central Bank Digital

☆ BoE's Ramsden: UK interest rates to stay high for extended time
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The Bank of England is likely to need to keep interest rates high for an extended period, Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden said on Thursday, sticking close to the central bank's existing language on the topic. Ramsden voted with the majority on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) this month to keep interest rates on hold at a 15-year high of 5.25%. "Monetary policy is likely to need to be restrictive for an extended period of time," Ramsden said in prepared remarks for the European Systemic Risk Board's annual conference. "The MPC have communicated that monetary policy will need to be sufficiently restrictive for sufficiently long to return inflation to the 2% target sustainably in the medium term," he added. The BoE currently holds 748 billion pounds ($931 billion) of gilts, down from a peak of 875 billion pounds in December 2021, and committed to reduce its stockpile by 100 billion pounds between October 2023 and September 2024.

Persons: Dave Ramsden, Ramsden, BoE, David Milliken, Sachin Ravikumar, Kylie MacLellan Organizations: Bank of England, Monetary, Financial, Thomson

☆ Sterling eases after cooler British inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

British Pound and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Sterling eased on Wednesday after data showed British inflation cooled more than forecast in October, reinforcing expectations that the Bank of England (BoE) will be cutting interest rates by the middle of next year. Sterling was last down 0.2% on the day at $1.2471 by 0724 GMT, compared with $1.2487 shortly before the data. The figures reinforced the view that the U.S. Federal Reserve has probably also finished raising interest rates. Money markets show traders believe there is a good chance the BoE could start cutting rates by May next year.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Sterling, BoE, Richard Garland, Rishi Sunak, we’ve, Huw Pill, Amanda Cooper, Alun John, Robert Birsel Organizations: Pound, U.S, REUTERS, Bank of England, Office, National Statistics, Omnis Investments, government's Treasury, U.S . Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: September's, Britain

Annual consumer price inflation plunged to a lower-than-expected 4.6% in October from 6.7% in September, official data showed on Wednesday. The Bank of England's forecasts and the consensus from a Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a reading of 4.8%. Sterling fell slightly against the dollar after publication of the data, which showed key inflation measures watched closely by the BoE also falling by more than expected. Investors added to their bets on BoE rate cuts next year with three 25-basis-point reductions in Bank Rate fully priced in by December 2024, and a first cut fully priced for June. Reporting by Andy Bruce and David Milliken, editing by William James and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sterling, BoE, Julien Lafargue, Sunak, Huw Pill, Hugh Gimber, Andy Bruce, David Milliken, William James, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Bank of England, of, ONS, Barclays Private Bank, Conservative Party, U.S ., Morgan Asset Management, Thomson Locations: Britain, Italy

☆ UK lenders step up mortgage price battle as inflation slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Iain Withers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - British lenders have accelerated price cuts on mortgages as competition intensifies, inflation slows and markets increase bets on future Bank of England (BoE) interest rate cuts. The latest inflation data on Wednesday showed price rises in Britain fell faster than expected in October, plunging to 4.6% from 6.7% the prior month, leading to further investor bets on BoE rate cuts next year. Reuters GraphicsThe average two-year fixed rate mortgage was priced at 6.19% as of Wednesday, the Moneyfacts data showed, down from a peak this year of 6.86% on 26 July. The country's inflation rate also remains high relative to most other developed economies. Lender cuts to fixed mortgage rates are also unlikely to be matched by variable rates that closely track the BoE rate.

Persons: BoE, John Charcol, Iain Withers, Sinead Cruise, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Bank of England, HSBC, Halifax, Virgin, Mortgage, Reuters, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: Britain

The figure represented a slight slowdown in regular pay growth from 7.9% in the previous two ONS reports, the highest since the data collection began in 2001. "The labour market remains very tight and businesses are still struggling to hire the people they need," Alexandra Hall-Chen, a policy advisor at the Institute of Directors, said. Including bonuses, which are typically volatile, pay growth slowed to 7.9% from 8.2% in the three months to August. "While there is some uncertainty around the accuracy of this data release, other indicators also suggest the labour market is gradually cooling, not collapsing," Jake Finney, an economist at PwC UK, said. Hunt said his Nov. 22 update on the budget and economic count would include "plans to get people back into work and deliver growth for the UK."

Persons: Big Ben, Toby Melville, Alexandra Hall, Chen, BoE, Sterling, Jake Finney, Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, William Schomberg, Sachin Ravikumar, Kylie MacLellan, David Milliken, Ed Osmond Organizations: REUTERS, LONDON, of, Office, National Statistics, Reuters, Institute of Directors, U.S, ONS, Labour Force Survey, PwC, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ Morning Bid: Chip stocks cheered while the rest retreat
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, October 30, 2023. Monthly retail sales data is due on Wednesday but the country's Singles Day shopping extraganza over the weekend - equivalent to Black Friday sales elsewhere - recorded only meagre growth. A sub-index of tech shares remained firmly positive but another of mainland property developers slumped more than 1%. U.S. retail sales data is also due on Wednesday, preceded by CPI a day earlier. ECB President Christine Lagarde last week said that rates will stay restrictive at least for several quarters.

Persons: Kevin Buckland Chip, Christine Lagarde, Luis de Guindos, Catherine L, Mann, Huw Pill, BoE's Mann, Sweden SEB, Kevin Buckland, Edmund Klamann Organizations: REUTERS, Staff, Wall, Reuters, Nikkei, CPI, Federal Reserve, Finance, Bank of England, New York Fed, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, China, Hong Kong, Elswhere, Sweden

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