B of E Base Rate: 5th February 2009

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Past caring!

After my trip to Oz, I couldn't care less, the UK has had it in my opinion, compared to where I've just been, its very nearly a 3rd world country.

tradetime

Cut

Snooze wrote: »

Umm, enough posts about it on a daily basis on these forums. Suggest you do some reading?

To put it very simply :

Lowering it keeps people in their houses
Raising it stops the country from going bankrupt

Now which one do you think is most important for the country overall?

Rob

Ah ok, so raising rates in the midst of a credit crisis and recession, causing more loan defaults, thus worsening the crisis, further pressuring the banks, and driving the country deeper into recession will prevent us from going bankrupt? Righty ho.

Toto

Well seeing as my savings are earning next to nothing, I'm past caring too. I wish the pound would recover a bit though, we have Canadian bank accounts and I'd love to shove my savings in there but the exchange rate is a killer at the moment.

Lotus-eater

Cut

tradetime wrote: »

Ah ok, so raising rates in the midst of a credit crisis and recession, causing more loan defaults, thus worsening the crisis, further pressuring the banks, and driving the country deeper into recession will prevent us from going bankrupt? Righty ho.

To be fair, falling interest rates don't seem to be doing that much either, apart from giving those lucky people on a tracker or a good SVR some extra money, that they aren't spending in the economy, but are hoarding at home in grannys knicker draw*.

* some of them are paying extra off the mortgage, but how many?

Snooze

Keep the rate at 1.5%

tradetime wrote: »

Ah ok, so raising rates in the midst of a credit crisis and recession, causing more loan defaults, thus worsening the crisis, further pressuring the banks, and driving the country deeper into recession will prevent us from going bankrupt? Righty ho.

Listen I'm not getting into an argument with you over it. I never said one was better than the other, I merely stated very very simplistically the effect of each. If you want to - yet again - debate the rights and wrongs with someone then please go and find someone else to do it with, like !!!!!!? or Generali for example or better still search out the past debates on the topic, of which there are no shortage.

Rob

jyonda

I'm not sure that the falling value of the pound will be a consideration as it's come on leaps and bounds against the Euro in the last week. If anything I'd say it was better to be relatively weak against other currencies to keep people in jobs as firms are looking to cut back on costs and may need to decide between office/plant A in UK and office/plant B elsewhere.

Snooze

Keep the rate at 1.5%

jyonda wrote: »

I'm not sure that the falling value of the pound will be a consideration as it's come on leaps and bounds against the Euro in the last week.

The key part of your post being the bit I've highlighted. Let's see how the pound fairs over the next 6-12-24 months and I think you might find that "leaps and bounds" won't be a description you'll be using, at least not in a positive form anyway.

Rob

mizzbiz

Cut

I believe they'll cut; excacerbating the problems in the long term.

Broken_hearted

Keep the rate at 1.5%

Stay the same. If it drops we might as well all just give up.

Oblivion

Cut

I think they're stupid enough to cut it again. After all, the BOE are clearly in some sort of contest with this Clown government to see who can damage the country even more with inappropriate actions.

Now if the poll had asked what do you think they should do, I'd have voted to raise.

Dave.