MSE News: Base rate held at 0.5% again

Former_MSE_Helen

"The base rate has today been held at its 0.5% historic low once again, the Bank of England has announced ..."

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Base rate held at 0.5% again





This thread is not in the 'discuss house prices and economy board' as that is only open to those logged into the forum so anyone coming from the news story may not be able to see it.

GooliesOfFire

Good, good! :> But no surprise here considering the current climate, eurozone crisis and shadow of double dip recession.

My Nationwide mortgage rate is allowing me to overpay every month so I cannot complain. I hope the BoE rate will remain at 0.5% until 2015 at least.

Glen_Clark

How much more could they have reduced the official rate of 0.5%?
When it gets down to this level the only practical way they can reduce it further is by printing money, which they have already done to the point where the real interest rate is about -4% (interest rate minus the real inflation rate)

gadgetmind

Glen_Clark wrote: »

How much more could they have reduced the official rate of 0.5%?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_interest_rate_policy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidity_trap

Has anyone ever escaped from ZIRP?

JohnRo

GooliesOfFire wrote: »

My Nationwide mortgage rate is allowing me to overpay every month so I cannot complain. I hope the BoE rate will remain at 0.5% until 2015 at least.

Good for you... meanwhile the nations pensioners and savers are bailing you and the banks out.

stusworld

shame bank of ireland dont know this they increased my mortgage 1% and will again in september 1/2% which works out at about 35% increase in there standard rate

Gordon_the_Moron

As someone with savings and no debts I kind of hope the base rate doesn't go up in the next year, most of my savings are now fixed rate and I'd be kicking myself if it did! On the other hand I'd gain a little bit on my other accounts so it would be good.

Good news about now QE anyway

Glen_Clark

Gordon_the_Moron wrote: »

Good news about now QE anyway

Money printing is good news for bankers. It doesn't get where its needed but sure greases a lot of palms along the way. Bonuses all round chaps.
No good for those outside their clique because their money is worth less.

MoneySaverLog

Printing money just makes it worth less and less. Making savers suffer even more. It's time interest rates went up to help savers, at the moment borrowers have had it good for far too long now.

nilrem_2

Gordon_the_Moron wrote: »

As someone with savings and no debts I kind of hope the base rate doesn't go up in the next year, most of my savings are now fixed rate and I'd be kicking myself if it did! On the other hand I'd gain a little bit on my other accounts so it would be good.

You are a saver with no debts and you don't want a base rate increase only because you have fixed and it would annoy you! :eek:

Most savers are sick of low rates and would welcome just a little interest increase to give them some hope for the future.

It's not too bad for people like us with fixed rate savings who can tie up cash for several years, at least we can get around 3 or 4% but spare a thought for poorer people who in some cases are getting less than 0.5% on their modest savings.

Personally even if rates do increase I don't think it will be by much and I don't think it will make much difference to fixed rates which are more influenced by libor rates than BOE ones. However a BOE rate will probably lead to a little extra for non fixed accounts.

We are continually being informed that the Financial situation we are in has been caused because people have been living beyond their means and borrowing without the means to pay it back, so what do they do? Lower rates so that it is easier for people to borrow more!

It would be helpful if low rates had improved things but to date this has not happened, in the past when people borrowed beyond their means rate went up not down!

JohnRo

The banking system is broken. A host can only support so many parasites before it becomes sick and eventually dies as a result, unless cleansed.

The criminal central banking cartels and their government henchmen are doing the only thing left they can do to sustain their crooked empire.

Deflating government debts and what's left of the property bubble they all bet the house on profiting from, by taking even more wealth from those trapped within their legal tender fractional reserve system of theft who still have some left to take.