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21 November 2008

CORRECTED - WRAPUP 2-ECB points to Dec rate cut, but not a massive one

(adds Trichet, Gonzalez-Paramo comments) * ECB's Mersch says large rate cut could backfire * Gonzalez-Paramo says ECB has 'different reactions' to other cenbanks * Trichet says not surprised by fall in PMIs ROME, Nov 21 (Reuters) - European Central Bank... Read more

21 November 2008

UPDATE: ECB's Paramo Defends ECB's Gradual Rate Movements

MADRID -(Dow Jones)- European Central Bank Executive Council member Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo defended the ECB's recent interest rate decisions, saying the bank has a more gradual approach to interest movements than some other central banks. Asked at a... Read more

21 November 2008

WRAPUP 1-ECB points to Dec rate cut, but not a massive one

By Gavin Jones ROME, Nov 21 (Reuters) - European Central Bank policymakers cemented on Friday expectations that they will cut interest rates once more next month, possibly by half a percentage point again and well short of the action taken by other... Read more

21 November 2008

Further cut in Bank of England rate expected

THE Bank of England is expected to cut its main base rate again next month. However, whether the cut will be half a percentage point or a full one per cent reduction will depend on the level of tax cuts announced in next Mondays pre-budget report. A tax... Read more

21 November 2008

ECB 'obviously' has room for more rate cuts: Nowotny

FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank 'obviously' has room to cut interest rates further because inflation is easing, governing council member Ewald Nowotny said Thursday in a newspaper interview. But future ECB rate cuts might not be as sharp as the last... Read more

21 November 2008

Aussie dlr battered, market ups ante on rate cuts

DEBT FUTURES CASH YIELDS 90-DAY BILL (DEC) 95.980(+0.210) 4.43(4.54) 3-YR BOND (DEC) 96.530(+0.210) 3.45(3.63) 10-YR BOND (DEC) 95.445(+0.205) 4.56(4.38) 3/10 SPREAD +1.085 (+1.100) AUST/US 10-YR SPREAD +155(+144) S&P/ASX 200 3234.6 (3352.9) US10-YR... Read more

21 November 2008

Swiss Rate Cut Adds Pressure on ECB

Switzerland's central bank surprised markets on Thursday by cutting its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point, the latest in a global round of aggressive rate cuts amid stuttering economic growth and slowing inflation. The Swiss central... Read more

21 November 2008

HSBC Bank plc to cut standard mortgage rate

HSBC Bank plc has announced it will reduce its HSBC variable mortgage rate by 0.81 per cent from the 5th December 2008. HSBC's standard variable rate is only paid by one per cent of the Bank's mortgage customers. Their new rate will fall from 6.25 per... Read more

20 November 2008

Further interest rate cuts expected

This month’s interest rate cut from 4.5% to 3% was a unanimous vote from the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), according to the minutes of the meeting, released yesterday. The 1.5 percentage point cut was the largest reduction since 1981,... Read more

20 November 2008

uSwitch.com: Banks quick to cut savings rate

The Bank of England has made aggressive cut in interest rates in the last two months but lenders have been slow to pass on the reduction to consumers, until the Government intervened and some lenders finally caved in to the pressure. However, according... Read more

Our market commentary

02 November 2008

October market commentary

It has been another roller-coaster month for sterling as GDP data released showed that the UK economy contracted by 0.5% in Q3 compared with the previous quarter. This is the first contraction since Q2 1992 and the biggest quarterly fall since Q4 1990. Read more

01 October 2008

September market commentary

It is fair to say recent market events have completely overshadowed economic data releases. It all started with the failure of Lehman Brothers and the Fed having to prop up insurance giant AIG. Then HBOS, the UK's largest mortgage lender was forced to be bought by Lloyds TSB following aggressive short selling of HBOS shares. Subsequently, Read more

31 August 2008

August market commentary

As expected, the Bank of England left interest rates on hold this week and we will have to wait two weeks to find out how they voted and whether the committee remained split on their decision. Last month seven of the nine members voted to keep rates on hold with one member voting for a cut and one for a hike. Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England has also spoken about the Read more

31 July 2008

Pure FX market commentary

The Bank of England has a tough task to steer the UK economy through these choppy waters. This month the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) felt that despite high inflation, interest rates should remain at 5%. The minutes of the meeting show this was not a straight forward decision... Read more

30 June 2008

Pure FX - Foreign Exchange Market Commentary - June 2008

The Bank of England (BoE) is in a difficult position with inflation set to accelerate towards 4% in the coming months, and economic growth slowing. Rising inflation would usually lead to the BoE increasing interest rates whilst they would normally be cut to stimulate economic growth. Read more

30 May 2008

Pure FX - Foreign Exchange Market Commentary - May 2008

I think it would be fair to say that one of the main economic factors recently has been the ever increasing price of oil. Why should this affect currency values? Well at the moment in the UK our economy is slowing but inflation remains above the 2% target, which is mainly down to high food and energy prices. Read more

30 April 2008

Pure FX - Foreign Exchange Market Overview - April 2008

Sterling has continued to struggle this month and given recent economic data it is difficult to see which sector will provide the UK currency with the support that it needs. Interest rates were cut by 25 basis points earlier in the month with MPC voting split three ways, although so far the banks have been unwilling to pass this reduction onto consumers. Read more

31 March 2008

Pure FX - Foreign Exchange Market Overview - March 2008

It has been an interesting month and sterling remains under pressure. The Bank of England voted to keep interest rates on hold at 5.25%. This was forecast, however the minutes indicate a cut in interest rates is just around the corner. Another major factor to sterling weakness was speculation that HBOS was in a precarious financial position. Read more

29 February 2008

Pure FX - Foreign Exchange Market Overview - February 2008

Underlying confidence has remained fragile this month with persistent unease over the financial sector. The nine members of the Bank of England'™s (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously for a rate cut with one member, David Blanchflower voting for a 50 basis point reduction. Read more

31 January 2008

Pure FX - Foreign Exchange Market Overview - January 2008

It has been an interesting month for economic news and since Christmas sterling has been under pressure, caused mainly by the credit crunch in the US, continuing issues with Northern Rock and whether the wider UK economy will begin to suffer as a consequence. One of the first main economic indicators for the New Year was news that the Bank of England decided to keep interest rates on hold. Read more Subscribe to RSS