Delayed response Nobody likes to be wrong. Markets had been pricing in an 80% likelihood of a rate drop of at least 0.25% last Thursday. Instead, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) wrong-footed markets by voting 8–1 in favour of leaving rates on hold.
Gainful employment After a fortnight of jumpy trading, markets were eager for good news last week. On Friday, it duly materialised in the form of the important US payrolls report. Figures for both April and May had fallen far short of expectations; Janet Yellen, chair of
Dissonant notes The direction of travel last week seemed ever downward. British politics has not appeared so unstable – or its politicians so duplicitous – for decades. Forecasts for the economic outlook now tend to the negative. The European Banking Authority is readying itself to move
Uncharted waters Sometimes even a weekend can be a long time in politics. Since it was confirmed on Friday morning that the UK had voted to end its membership of the European Union, David Cameron has resigned, as has half the shadow cabinet. Nicola Sturgeon has
This precious stone Perhaps it is appropriate that Britain’s referendum on EU membership takes place 400 years after the death of a man who may have done more than anyone to shape this nation’s view of itself. William Shakespeare put his best-known lines about his
Divided times If the populace knew with what idiocy they were ruled, they would revolt; or so said Charlemagne, the eighth century conqueror who united much of Europe under his rule and created the administrative geographies that would evolve into Germany, France and the Low
Plastic money Fourteen centuries after the Chinese court produced the first paper banknotes, the Bank of England has announced that it is retiring the £5 version. The £5 note first appeared 223 years ago, but from 13 September it will be going plastic, complete with an
Borrowed time In fiction as in history, debt has played a large role, from the plot of The Merchant of Venice to Britain’s funding of the Napoleonic Wars. Even if he never said it, Winston Churchill’s supposed line sums up the unthinking abandon with which individuals
A yen for growth The architect of the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, completed in 1896, spent 14 months travelling around the West before finalising his design for a neo-Baroque landmark in Tokyo. Last week, scrutiny turned in the opposite direction. Japan reported that its economy
Watching from the wings Market participants tend to like their politicians quiet, predictable and acquiescent; in short, they like to be able to ignore them. In recent months they have not been able to do so, and last week politicians were particularly dominant. The US primary and
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