Bank of England holds interest rates steady at 5.25%
Eight of the nine MPC members voted to pause, while one favoured a 25bps cut
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Eight of the nine MPC members voted to pause, while one favoured a 25bps cut
ECB may opt to continue with QE programme into next year if slowdown continues
The European Central Bank has set an end date for quantitative easing, stating purchases will be halved after September before the programme ends in December.
Italian expansionary fiscal policy is more likely to inform European Central Bank policy than political threats to financial stability, with some investors raising concerns the central bank could soon switch to a more hawkish tone.
The European Central Bank (ECB) will cut the size of its monthly asset purchases in half from January next year, the bank’s president Mario Draghi announced on Thursday. Bond and equity markets, as well as the euro, hardly responded to the announcement.
While markets could remain complacent and expensive for a long time, recession risk is rising, says asset manager Robeco. Fidelity is also increasingly cautious, expecting “the longest equity bull market since World War II” to end within 18 months.
A meeting of the European Central Bank heralded few surprises on Thursday, but added fuel to speculation QE will continue past 2017.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is keeping its monetary policy unchanged, as ECB-president Mario Draghi expressed confidence that inflation in the Eurozone is “converging to our objective”.
European Central Bank president Mario Draghi delivered a relatively short address after the October governing council meeting on Thursday which was light on substance, but there was something in his remarks that may worry investors.
ECB intervention has pushed European corporate bond yields down to unrealistic levels. It may therefore be a good idea to buy some sterling credit, regardless of how the Brexit saga will play out.
The Fed and the Bank of Japan failed to disappoint markets on Wednesday. And, with that lack of disappointment, has come a growing belief that the banking sector might well be turning once more into a viable investment destination.
Against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty, most fund selectors based in the Grand Duchy intend to increase their allocation to long/short equity funds. They also follow the other main trends: buying emerging market equities and corporate bonds, and selling US equities and government bonds.