Interest Rates Held

lipidicman

Today at 1pm on the BBC Website

The Bank of England has left interest rates on hold at 4.75% for a sixth month in a row.

The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to take no action amid mixed signals from the economy.

But, some economists predict a further rise in the cost of borrowing will come later this year.

see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4253509.stm

So we might not have the cuts I was worried about!

bert

I think we will have to wait untill after the election untill rates are increased. It's long overdue. I hope they double it!

dunstonh

There seems to a split on opinon as to what will happen in the coming months. Some thing there will be one more rise before it remains level and then begins the decline. However, the majority of those asked believe we have hit the ceiling and it will remain at this level for around 6 months before going on a gradual decline.

As a borrower and investor rather than a saver, i hope the latter.

robnye

dunstonh wrote:

There seems to a split on opinon as to what will happen in the coming months. Some thing there will be one more rise before it remains level and then begins the decline. However, the majority of those asked believe we have hit the ceiling and it will remain at this level for around 6 months before going on a gradual decline.

As a borrower and investor rather than a saver, i hope the latter.

ditto......

deemy2004

bert wrote:

I think we will have to wait untill after the election untill rates are increased. It's long overdue. I hope they double it!

LOL

Droowling over rates of 9.5%

Though not going to happen.... not for a loooooong time

deemy2004

No one knows what will happen, not even the Bank of England.

Its all dependant on the economic stats and their effect on the exchange rate.

one thing I can say is that Sterling has FAILED to resume its uptrend which is a sign of weakness. This suggests those waiting for rate cuts will have a long, long time to wait and the upward movements in interest rates are still the more probable direction, how far is completely unknown.

But sometime after the election there will be a rise to 5%, though it is dependant on the current scenerio continuing of a weakening currency.

Walletwatch

deemy2004 wrote:

LOL

Droowling over rates of 9.5%

Though not going to happen.... not for a loooooong time

Now, that would be great, innit!!! A direct doubling to stoozing income...

lipidicman

I hope you are right deemy

Walle****ch, stoozing might go out the window as I think that 0% would vanish overnight! (I know you were just jesting!)

bert

Somethings got to be done to stop this compulsive borrowing in society. It is daft how low interest rates are; allowing people who can't afford it to buy property and contribute to its ridiculously inflated prices. The longer this goes on the more it is going to hurt.

deemy2004

bert wrote:

Somethings got to be done to stop this compulsive borrowing in society. It is daft how low interest rates are; allowing people who can't afford it to buy property and contribute to its ridiculously inflated prices. The longer this goes on the more it is going to hurt.

As with all trends, the credit bubble will continue inflating until there is a credit crunch. That is the nature of our financial system and theres nothing that can be done other than to wait for that envitable day.

As to what may trigger the credit crunch ? The obvious one is the housing market, but looking outside the UK there is the risk of a bust in china, and inflation taking off in the USA.

Walletwatch

lipidicman wrote:

I hope you are right deemy

Walle****ch, stoozing might go out the window as I think that 0% would vanish overnight! (I know you were just jesting!)

Well, one has got to accept the fact that stoozing has to stop sometime - it'd be daft to assume stoozing avenues to be permanently available - I think 0% debt is as much a fad in banking circles as the latest pret-a-porter from Giorgio Armani. (albeit with longer cycle times)