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☆ Asia shares extend rally on hopes of early rate cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"This year's better-than-expected U.S. supply-side performance raises hopes for a soft landing," said Bruce Kasman, head of economic research at JPMorgan. Futures markets swung to imply a 90% chance the Fed was done hiking, and an 86% chance the first policy easing would come as soon as June. Markets also imply around an 80% probability the European Central Bank will be cutting rates by April, while the Bank of England is seen easing in August. An odd man out is Australia's central bank, which is considered likely to resume hiking rates at a policy meeting on Tuesday as inflation stays stubbornly high. "We look for the Fed Funds rate to fall to 3-3.25%, the ECB depo rate to 3% and BoE Bank Rate to 4.25% by end-2024."

Persons: Issei Kato, Bruce Kasman, disinflation, Jerome Powell, BoE, Brent, Wayne Cole, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Nikkei, SYDNEY, Federal Reserve, JPMorgan, Futures, European Central Bank, Bank of, ECB, The Bank of Japan, South, Nasdaq, Fed, NatWest Markets, Sunday, Palestinian, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, United States, Europe, U.S, Bank of England, Asia, Pacific, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Russia, East, Israel, Gaza

☆ Don't confuse customers over stablecoins, Bank of England warns lenders
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A pedestrian walks past the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, September 25, 2023. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Bank of England FollowLONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - The Bank of England told lenders on Monday that they must avoid any risk that customers might confuse new forms of e-money like 'stablecoins' with standard deposits which are guaranteed against bank failures. Stablecoins are a cryptocurrency backed by a traditional currency such as sterling or the U.S. dollar, or an asset. To the extent that systemic payment systems using stablecoins pose similar risks as other systemic payment systems, they should be subject to equivalent regulatory standards, the BoE said. There are no systemic sterling stablecoins, but Tether, issuer of the world's largest stablecoin, pegged to the U.S. dollar and backed by assets including U.S. government debt, said last year it would launch a sterling stablecoin.

Persons: Hollie Adams, BoE, stablecoins, Sheldon Mills, David Milliken, Tom Wilson, Kylie MacLellan, Kirsten Donovan, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Bank of England, City of, REUTERS, Companies Bank of England, U.S ., Financial, European, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain

☆ Global stocks jump and dollar slumps after weak U.S. jobs data
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Harry Robertson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The dollar tumbled after the data, which showed that the U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 150,000 in October, lower than the 180,000 predicted and September's downwardly revised 297,000 figure. MSCI's index of world stocks (.MIWD00000PUS) was last up 0.45%, having traded roughly 0.26% higher before the data. It was on track to finish the week 4.5% higher, which would be the largest weekly rise since November 2022. It traded 0.29% lower at 105.89 before the data. Reuters Graphics"Investors will interpret today’s jobs weak jobs report as a sign that demand is slowing in the labour market," said Richard Flynn, managing director at Charles Schwab UK, in emailed comments.

Persons: Androniki, nonfarm, September's downwardly, Richard Flynn, Charles Schwab, BoE, Samuel Zief, Brent, Harry Robertson, Jacqueline Wong, Miral Fahmy, Mark Heinrich, Alison Williams Organizations: Nikkei, REUTERS, Companies, Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Reuters Graphics, Treasury, JPMorgan Private Bank, U.S . Treasury, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, U.S, Israel

[1/2] Dollar, Euro and Pound banknotes are seen in this picture illustration taken April 28, 2017. The euro was last up 0.27% at $1.06515, and thanks to gains earlier in the week was heading for a weekly gain of 0.8%, which would be its most since July. Sterling likewise was up 0.2% on the day at $1.2228, and set for a 0.86% weekly gain, also its most since July. Both the Aussie and the New Zealand dollars are up 1.7% for the week, their best weekly performance since again mid-July. The dollar is heading for a weekly gain of 0.25% on the franc and was last at 0.9041 francs.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Sterling, Jerome Powell, We've, BOE, Yusuke Miyairi, Detroit's, Kazuo Ueda, Ankur Banerjee, Rae Wee, Gerry Doyle, Kim Coghill, David Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Treasury Department, Federal, Fed, Treasury, Nomura, Analysts, United Auto Workers, UAW, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, Reuters, New, Swiss, Thomson Locations: Rights SINGAPORE, LONDON, U.S, New Zealand, Singapore

☆ 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: Traders bet ECB will be first big central bank to cut rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Yoruk Bahceli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A view shows the logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany March 16, 2023. With investors confident that big central banks are likely done raising rates, focus has switched to when rate cuts will start. Traders now price in over an 80% chance of a 25 basis-points (bps) ECB cut by April, which had been fully priced for July last week. Piet Christiansen, chief analyst at Danske Bank, said the expectations for ECB rate cuts now reflected a "doom and gloom" scenario. He added the ECB would need to cut rates at least as much as traders expect next year.

Persons: Heiko Becker, BoE, Shamik Dhar, Christine Lagarde, Piet Christiansen, Lagarde, Goldman, Gurpreet Gill, Dario Perkins, Yoruk, Sumanta Sen, Kripa Jayaram, Dhara Ranasinghe, Emelia Organizations: European Central Bank, REUTERS, Traders, ECB, Fed, Federal Reserve, Bank of England, BNY Mellon Investment, Treasury, Reuters, Danske Bank, Asset Management, Lombard, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, United States, Europe, U.S, Britain, Israel

☆ Morning Bid: Stocks clocking best week of the year
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | 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., October 27, 2023. The U.S. October employment report out later on Friday caps a hectic two weeks of central bank decisions, company updates and unnerving geopolitics. As the first major marker of U.S. economic strength in the final quarter of the year, the payrolls report packs a punch despite expected strike-related distortions. The interest rate relief this week is pervasive, however, as the Fed, ECB and BoE all paused tightening and U.S. Treasury debt sales worries ebbed somewhat. U.S. Treasury (.MOVE) and equity market (.BIX) volatility gauges have subsided to their lowest levels since early last month.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Mike Dolan, BoE, ebbed, Antony Blinken, Sam Bankman, Fried, Michael Barr, Neel Kashkari, Huw Pill, Emelia Sithole Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Mike, U.S, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England, Apple, Fed, ECB, Treasury, U.S . Treasury, Labor Department, Eversource Energy, Cardinal Health, Dominion Energy, Gartner, Church, Dwight, AMC, Liberty Media, Icahn Enterprises, Federal, Bank of England, Israel Productivity, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Isreal, Gaza, Gaza City, Canada, Minneapolis, Israel

A general view of the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, September 25, 2023. In making that call the BoE report focuses mostly on consumption, which it estimates makes up about 60% of GDP. As a result, the BoE expects the fallout from rate moves to date to "grow over time" even if one-off quarterly hits have peaked. And whatever the slow-burning hit to growth and consumption, inflation surprises could well change the increasingly comfortable markets picture. BOE chart on GDP outlookBOE chart on consumption hit from rate risesReuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsThe opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reutersby Mike Dolan X: @reutersMikeD; editing by David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Hollie Adams, Huw Pill, what's, BoE, Modupe Adegbembo, Andy Burgess, BOE, Mike Dolan, David Evans Organizations: Bank of England, City of, REUTERS, Bank, Reuters, AXA Investment Managers, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, British

☆ Oil prices steady, on track for second straight week of losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A view from the oil company Tatneft in Tatarstan, Russia on June 04, 2023. Oil prices were little changed on Friday, heading for their second straight week of losses as the U.S. central bank left the door open for possible future rate hikes and worries that the Middle East conflict would disrupt supply eased. Brent crude futures rose 6 cents to $86.91 a barrel by 0010 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $82.58 a barrel. Brent was on track to fall about 4% in the week, while WTI looked set to close down 3.5%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal delivered a "dovish" pause to its rate hikes on Wednesday, while the BoE delivered a "hawkish" pause on Thursday.

Persons: Brent, WTI, BoE Organizations: Brent, U.S, West Texas, Palestinian, U.S . Federal Locations: Tatarstan, Russia, Tatneft, U.S, Gaza, Israel, Saudi Arabia

☆ Take Five: You (may) have arrived at your destination
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

No wonder markets see a 70% chance that the Fed's brutal 20-month tightening cycle is over and that rate cuts could begin as soon as June. So watch closely to see if the top central bankers push back against the cut chatter until inflation is truly tamed. Shekel, gold, oil response to the war5/RACE DAY RATE HIKEThe famous Melbourne Cup horse race runs on Tuesday, but some of the shortest odds are on an Aussie central bank rate hike over in Sydney that day. Three-year and 10-year Australian government bond yields have hit their highest since 2011, though backed off slightly on the Fed's hold. The Australian dollar has also rallied strongly against its New Zealand counterpart as rate expectations diverge.

Persons: Marc Jones, Dhara, Kevin Buckland, Tom Westbrook, Lewis Krauskopf, BoE, Horton, Walt Disney, Mittal, shekel, Antony Blinken, Jordan, Luci Ellis, Kripa Jayaram, Riddhima Talwani, Gareth Jones Organizations: Federal Reserve, Fed, ECB, FX, Bank of Japan, Reuters, eBay, Nvidia, UBS, ABN Amro, Allianz, Friday, U.S, Melbourne Cup, Westpac, New Zealand, Thomson Locations: Australia, Gaza, Here's, London, Tokyo, Singapore, New York, Britain, U.S, Europe, Commerzbank, Israel, Gaza City, Iran, Sydney

☆ UK services businesses 'skirt with recession' in Oct-PMI survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The composite PMI - which includes weak data from the smaller manufacturing sector released on Tuesday - rose to 48.7 from 48.5 in September. "Forward-looking survey indicators suggested that service providers will continue to skirt with recession," Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global, said. "A shallow downturn in UK service sector activity persisted in October as businesses struggled to make headway against a backdrop of worsening domestic economic conditions and stretched household budgets." The services PMI showed the weakest rise in businesses' input costs since February 2021, as falling raw material costs and discounting by suppliers offset continued upward pressure from rising wage bills and fuel costs. Prices charged by services companies rose by the most in three months, although the increases were smaller than in the first half of the year.

Persons: Hannah McKay, Tim Moore, BoE, David Milliken, Susan Fenton Organizations: REUTERS, P, PMI, P Global, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, September's, United States

☆ 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 set to hold rates again, but markets see no cuts on the horizon
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district, in London, Britain, January 26, 2023. "U.K. economic activity appears to have slowed further, the housing market is weaker, consumer spending is falling, and inflationary pressure is showing further signs of dissipating. U.K. inflation came in at 6.7% in September , unchanged from the previous month and considerably higher than in other G7 economies. "The only way that we can rationalise this is if U.K. inflation remains stuck at 3% or higher forever, and/or the U.K. economy avoids a meaningful recession," he said. The European Central Bank last week held rates steady at their current record high of 4%, ending a run of 10 straight hikes.

Persons: Mike Riddell, BoE, Swati Dhingra, Riddell, Abbas Khan, Haskel, Mann, Dhingra, Catherine Mann, Allianz's Riddell Organizations: Bank of England, Allianz Global Investors, P, MPC, Bank, Monetary, LONDON, Barclays, U.S . Federal, Treasury, European Central Bank Locations: City, London, Britain, Israel

And some banks think the Bank of England may be the latest to paper over the QT cracks as soon as this week. Already, there's been some awkward shuffling of feet around a process that was meant to be just balance sheet plumbing. The Federal Reserve may be further away from dealing with the QT issue head on. Deutsche Bank's UK strategists agree and think "the bar for a shift in QT policy is lower heading into yearend." Deutsche argues the BoE could either skew gilt sales shorter or agree to sell evenly based on current market valuations.

Persons: there's, BOE, BoE, BofA, Deutsche, Mike Dolan, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Bank of England, European Central Bank, Federal, . Treasury, Bank, Treasury, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank's, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Treasuries, yearend

☆ UK house prices show surprise rise in October - Nationwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Prices increased by 0.9% from September when they had risen by a marginal 0.1%, Nationwide said. It was the biggest monthly increase since August 2022. Economists polled by Reuters had expected prices to fall by a monthly 0.4% and by 4.8% year on year. "The uptick in house prices in October most likely reflects the fact that the supply of properties on the market is constrained," Nationwide Chief Economist Robert Gardner said. "While some buyers are able to accept higher mortgage payments, helping to prop up house prices, their number is dwindling as shown by the drop in mortgage approvals in September," Pattison said.

Persons: Robert Gardner, BoE, Gardner, Imogen Pattison, Pattison, William Schomberg, Jason Neely Organizations: Nationwide, Reuters, Royal Institution, Chartered Surveyors, Bank of England's, Capital Economics, Thomson

☆ Asia stocks mull over Middle East, central bank meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The earnings season also continues with Apple, Airbnb, McDonald's, Moderna and Eli Lilly & Co among the many reporting this week. Early on Monday, S&P 500 futures had edged up 0.3% to 4,151, while Nasdaq futures added 0.5%. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) fell 1.1% amid speculation the Bank of Japan (BOJ) might tweak its yield curve control (YCC) policy after its two-day policy meeting wraps up on Tuesday. The Bank of England is also expected to stay on hold this week, with markets pricing around a 70% chance it is done tightening altogether. Oil prices eased as worries about demand outweighed risks to Middle East supplies, at least for the moment.

Persons: Issei Kato, BoE, BOJ, Eli Lilly, China Evergrande, Treasuries, Goldman Sachs, reacceleration, Brent, Wayne Cole, Jamie Freed Organizations: REUTERS, Nikkei, Apple, Moderna, Nasdaq, HK, Japan's Nikkei, Bank of Japan, Barclays, Treasury, NatWest, Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Capital, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, U.S, Gaza, payrolls SYDNEY, United States, Britain, McDonald's, Gaza's, Iranian, Asia, Pacific, China, Israel, East

HIGH INFLATION FALLS SLOWLYConsumer price inflation hit 11.1% in October 2022, which was higher than in comparable economies, and it has fallen more slowly too. But service price inflation, which the BoE watches closely, rose. Economists expect a big fall in headline inflation in October as last year's energy price surge fades from the comparison. However, the BoE issued a forecast in August saying inflation would return to 2% only in the second quarter of 2025. Financial markets do not see a more than 50% chance of the BoE cutting Bank Rate until August 2024.

Persons: BoE, Andrew Bailey, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics BOE, Huw Pill, William Schomberg, Sumanta Sen, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Bank of England, Reuters Graphics, HIT, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics, Financial, European Central Bank, Graphics, Thomson Locations: Britain, U.S

☆ Fall in UK jobs postings shows labour market is cooling, Adzuna says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Online job adverts fell by 1.6% in September from August, bucking the usual end-of-summer bounce in job postings, and advertised salaries fell by the same amount, Adzuna said. "September traditionally sees a surge in job market activity but the figures we're seeing this year could signal a cooling off of the job market, which had shown signs of resilience earlier in the year," Adzuna co-founder Andrew Hunter said. The Office for National Statistics said earlier this month its measure of job vacancies fell to a two-year low of 988,000 in the three months to September. Separately on Monday, a survey showed small businesses recovering a bit of their lost confidence but the overall mood remained negative. Martin McTague, FSB's national chair, said the survey showed signs of stabilisation after 18 months of surging costs.

Persons: Adzuna, Andrew Hunter, BoE, Martin McTague, McTague, Suban Abdulla, William Schomberg, Andy Bruce Organizations: Bank of England, National Statistics, Federation of Small, Hospitality, Thomson

☆ Big central banks hit pause, with rate cuts far off
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

On Oct. 23, Fed Chair Jay Powell said a strong economy and tight jobs market could warrant more rate rises. Interest rate futures show traders believe the BoE will not cut rates, now at their highest since 2008, until at least June 2024. "The Governing Council’s past interest rate increases continue to be transmitted forcefully into financing conditions," the ECB said, adding it would follow a "data-dependent" approach and future decisions would be based on incoming data. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told parliament last week interest rates may have peaked. Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics8) AUSTRALIAThe Reserve Bank of Australia held rates steady at 4.1% for a fourth meeting in October.

Persons: Jonathan Ernst, Jay Powell, BoE, Jonas Gahr Stoere, Michele Bullock, Naomi Rovnick, Harry Robertson, Alun John, Yoruk Bahceli, Samuel Indyk, Chiara Elisei, Kripa Jayaram, Pasit, Riddhima, Sumanta Sen, Vineet, Amanda Cooper, Giles Elgood Organizations: . Federal, REUTERS, European Central Bank, Federal Reserve, Bank of England, UNITED, Reuters, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, BRITAIN, Bank of Canada, BoC, ECB, Norges Bank, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: Washington, Japan, hawkish, dovish, NORWAY, SWEDEN Sweden, SWITZERLAND, Swiss, Gaza, JAPAN

We're buying 200 shares of Coterra Energy (CTRA) at roughly $28 each. Following Thursday's trade, Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust will own 1950 shares of CTRA, increasing its weighting to about 2% from 1.83%. CTRA 1M mountain Coterra Energy 1-month Coterra Energy is an exploration and production company that is roughly split evenly between oil and natural gas . More importantly, the reason to own Meta stock has not changed as it has effectively leveraged AI to increase engagement on its platforms as well as monetization. An oil pumpjack pulls oil from the Permian Basin oil field in Odessa, Texas, on March 14, 2022.

Persons: Jim Cramer's, We've, Exxon Mobi, we've, BOE, Hess, Coterra, Mark Zuckerberg's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Joe Raedle Organizations: Coterra Energy, CTRA, Natural Resources, Exxon, Coterra, Chevron, Reality Labs, Meta, CNBC, Getty Locations: Odessa , Texas

☆ BoE likely to keep high rates on hold even as signs of slowdown mount
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The last Monetary Policy Committee meeting in September resulted in five members voting to pause, just outnumbering the four who sought another increase. So far, investors are not challenging the BoE's message that interest rates will stay high for a considerable period. BOE Chief Economist Huw Pill likened the outlook for monetary policy to the lofty, flat and long profile of Table Mountain during a visit to South Africa in late August. But economists expected little change in the BoE's previous forecasts that inflation will fall to 2% in two years' time. "Recent geopolitical events will probably induce a modicum of monetary policy caution, reinforcing the likelihood of unaltered policy settings," analysts at NatWest Markets said.

Persons: Hollie Adams, BoE, Andrew Bailey, James Smith, Smith, BOE, Huw Pill, Pill, Bailey, Rishi Sunak, Price, William Schomberg, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Bank of England, City of, REUTERS, Reuters, ING, Investors, U.S . Federal, Monetary Fund, NatWest Markets, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, South Africa

☆ Bank of England rate has peaked, to stay at 5.25% through Q2
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Jonathan Cable | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The Bank of England is likely done with policy tightening and will leave Bank Rate at 5.25% on Nov. 2, according to the vast majority of economists polled by Reuters who did however caution the chance of another increase this year was high. Only 12 economists forecast a quarter point rise to 5.50% at the November Monetary Policy Committee meeting. Inflation was expected to gradually decline across the forecast horizon but it won't reach target until Q2 2025, the poll showed. Around one-third of economists expected the Bank to act earlier. The BoE was forecast to reduce Bank Rate by 50 basis points in the fourth quarter, putting it at 4.50% by year-end.

Persons: James Smith, Elizabeth Martins, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, BoE, ING's Smith, Jonathan Cable, Prerana Bhat, Sujith Pai, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Bank of England, Reuters, Bank, ING, MPC, HSBC, United States Federal Reserve, European, Thomson

The BoE is monitoring the labour market closely as it considers whether it needs to resume raising interest rates, having kept them on hold in September after 14 hikes in a row. Under the previous methodology, the unemployment rate had been reported as 4.3% for the three months to July rather than 4.2%. Still, the new data showed more slack in the labour market than the BoE had predicted in August, when it forecast an unemployment rate of 4.1% for the third quarter as a whole. "It is probably only a matter of time before the recent loosening of the labour market feeds through into significantly slower wage growth," Pugh said. The latest ONS estimate showed employment fell by 133,000 in the three months to July, compared with 207,000 in its previous estimate.

Persons: BoE, Thomas Pugh, Pugh, Tony Wilson, Andy Bruce, William Schomberg, Paul Sandle, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Office, National Statistics, Bank of England, Labour Force Survey, RSM, ONS, Financial, Institute for Employment Studies, Thomson

☆ Britain scraps cap on banker bonuses inherited from EU
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A general view of the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, September 25, 2023. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Britain on Tuesday scrapped a decade-old cap on banker bonuses inherited from the European Union, signalling a clear divergence in post-Brexit financial rules from the 27-country bloc it left in 2020. The BoE and Financial Conduct Authority proposed scrapping the cap in a public consultation earlier this year, and its abolition was confirmed in final policy published on Tuesday. The TUC confederation of labour unions said the decision to scrap the bonus cap was "obscene". Law firm Linklaters said scrapping the cap puts Britain back into line with the rest of the world, apart from the EU, but it would continue to apply to staff working at EU banks in London who are regulated under the bloc's rules.

Persons: Hollie Adams, BoE, Suzanne Horne, Paul Hastings, Paul Nowak, Linklaters, David Milliken, Iain Withers, Barbara Lewis, Mark Potter, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Bank of England, City of, REUTERS, European Union, Financial, Authority, London, Finance, TUC, Britain, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, EU, London, New York, United States, Asia

☆ UK 30-year borrowing costs rise to highest since 1998
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A bus passes the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, February 14, 2017. Ten-year gilt yields were 2 basis point higher on the day at 4.69%, not far off a 15-year high of 4.755% set on Aug. 17. The BoE has raised its interest rate 14 times since December 2021 to 5.25%, but investors think it is now on pause, with only a 13% chance of a rate rise on Nov. 2 after its next meeting. The chances of a further quarter-point rate to 5.5% by March next year stand at around 55%. Reporting by David Milliken; editing by William JamesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Hannah McKay, Liz Truss, Jerome Powell, Richard Hunter, Jeremy Hunt, BoE, David Milliken, William James Our Organizations: Bank of England, City of, REUTERS, Treasury, Federal, Interactive Investor, Bank of, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain

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