British inflation vanished last month, hitting zero for the first time on record, official figures showed on Tuesday. The annual rate of consumer price inflation dropped to zero percent, from 0.3 percent in January, the Office for National Statistics said, keeping a rate rise by the Bank of England firmly off the table for now.
Tags: Bank of England
Britain Interest Rate Hike Will Be Shocking but Seems Inevitable
Bank of England has been keeping its interest rates at the lowest point at 0.5% since March 2009. However, some signals of the interest rate upsurge will be a shock to some people in Britain.
Despite growth in lending, UK mortgage approvals dive down
Contrary to economists' expectations, the number of approvals in UK mortgages suddenly dropped in September for the first time in the past four months. The mortgages rose significantly in August indicating the highest level since early 2014.
UK factory output shrinks in Q3; exports drop
UK's performance in the third quarter further slowed down. The gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in July-September quarter was at 0.6 percent lower than 0.7 percent in the previous quarter.
Housing boom in the horizon as market welcomes potential new buyers
As the supply for homes being sold goes down, statistics suggest an increase of potential buyers. This could lead to boom in house prices. Statistics from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) this week expects to see a surge in potential new home buyers as reported by This Is Money. As supply of houses being sold is dwindling, another boom in house prices could well be on the way.
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Two fifths of British workers landed significant pay rises last year but a similar number endured stagnant salaries as the fortunes of the workforce diverged sharply, a human resources organization said on Monday.
A former boss of HSBC, Stephen Green, has stepped down from his position with a financial services lobby group after allegations that the bank helped people dodge taxes.
The European Central Bank is considering a hybrid approach to government bond purchases which would combine the ECB buying debt with risk sharing across the euro zone and, in a nod to German qualms, separate purchases by national central banks.
British companies plan to cautiously relax their grip on pay in 2015, but rises will be limited by higher costs for holiday pay and workplace pensions, as well as weak productivity growth, the Confederation of British Industry said on Monday.
British industrial output unexpectedly fell in October as manufacturing was dragged down by a sharp fall in production of electronic products following a strong September.
British manufacturing activity unexpectedly picked up a little speed in November as domestic demand offset falling exports due to sluggish orders from the euro zone and emerging markets, a survey showed on Monday.
The ECB's monthly rate meeting will focus minds this week on the debate over quantitative easing in the euro zone, as a series of data releases on both sides of the Atlantic sheds more light on European woes and U.S. strength.
Today, the minutes of the MPC meeting held on 5th and 6th November was released. The Committee set monetary policy to meet the 2% inflation target in the medium term, and in a way that helped to sustain growth and employment.
The Bank of England, once widely expected to start weaning Britain off near-zero interest rates this month, now looks set to signal no rise in borrowing costs until the middle of next year.
