Monetary Policy

Feb- 2022 -

3 February

BoE raises interest rates to 0.5%

The Bank of England (BoE) has raised interest rates for the second time in three months to 0.5%, up from 0.25% previously. The BoE Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) confirmed it voted by a majority of 5-4 to increase Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 0.5%. Interestingly, it revealed those…

Jan- 2020 -

15 January

Business Bites

Boohoo more valuable than M&S – a sea-change encapsulated

From a purely journalistic standpoint it is now a de facto cliché to refer to Marks and Spencer as the “high street bellwether”, yet that is the status it has held for so many decades. The once mighty monolith was the first British retailer to reach a market capitalisation of £1bn and…

14 January

Business Bites

Javid mulls three-year passenger duty holiday for Flybe

Things are not looking rosy for low-cost airline, Flybe, but the chancellor Sajid Javid may have some proposals that save it from complete collapse. It is reported this morning that he is considering cutting air passenger duty on all domestic flights – a big boon for all the other airlines but also…

Nov- 2018 -

1 November

Business

Bank of England puts hold on interest rates due to Brexit uncertainty

The Bank of England has placed interest rates on hold following growing uncertainty around Brexit. A vote to leave rates unchanged held by the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was in favour of leaving rates at 0.75% by 9-0. Financial markets are currently indicating that rates will not rise until…

Jul- 2016 -

26 July

Current Affairs

NatWest and RBS could introduce charges for business customers

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which owns NatWest, has said small businesses could be forced to pay charges on credit balances if interest rates dip below zero. The BBC reported that 1.3 million NatWest and RBS business and commercial customers received a letter outlining the potential changes. Personal customers’ accounts will not be…

Jul- 2012 -

9 July

Current Affairs

UK business lending improves in May, says CBI

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has revealed that business lending fell to 3.1 per cent in the year to May – a marginal improvement on the 3.5 per cent from the year to April. Lending growth in general was subdued in the UK, with net mortgage lending falling from…

9 July

Industry News

UK business lending improves in May, says CBI

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has revealed that business lending fell to 3.1 per cent in the year to May – a marginal improvement on the 3.5 per cent from the year to April. Lending growth in general was subdued in the UK, with net mortgage lending falling from…