The Bank of England held interest rates at a record low of 0.1 per cent on Thursday, as central bank governor Andrew Bailey said it does not intend to tighten monetary policy until economic conditions improve.
The UK regulator also left the size of its bond-buying programme unchanged at £745 billion ($966bn/Dh3.5 trillion), as the BoE’s monetary policymakers voted unanimously to keep rates on hold in the midst of poor unemployment and inflation data.
“The outlook for the economy remains unusually uncertain. The committee will continue to monitor the situation closely and stands ready to adjust monetary policy accordingly to meet its remit," said Mr Bailey in a statement from the BoE.
“The committee does not intend to tighten monetary policy until there is clear evidence that significant progress is being made in eliminating spare capacity and achieving the 2 per cent inflation sustainably.”
The BoE’s decision follows the US Federal Reserve, which held interest rates near zero on Wednesday and signalled they would stay at that level for at least three years. The Fed also vowed to delay tightening until the US gets back to maximum employment and 2 per cent inflation as it recovers from the effects of Covid-19.
The UK central bank said recent increases in coronavirus cases, including in the UK, could potentially weigh further on economic activity and warned that the monetary policy committee had been briefed on the BoE’s plans to explore how a negative rate could be implemented effectively, should the outlook for inflation and output worsen.
Naeem Aslam, chief market strategist at London’s Avatrade said sterling dipped on the BoE’s comments that it will engage with regulators to implement negative rates.
“Traders now know that they draw a lot of blood out of this trade and the currency pair which you want to pay the most attention is EUR/GBP," Mr Aslam said.
“The expectations were that the BoE will signal the possibility of increasing its stimulus given the chaos that we are witnessing on the Brexit front. After all, this remains the key risk for the bank’s monetary policy. However, the language has heated up and there is a possibility that the interest rates could be moving in negative territory if there is no deal Brexit."
The UK slipped into its first recession since 2009 in the second quarter of this year posting a record 20.4 per cent contraction that made it the worst-performing European economy. The government has been criticised for acting later than its European counterparts to implement a lockdown, which led to the country paying a heavy economic cost and suffering the highest number of Covid-19 fatalities in the region.
Britain’s unemployment rate jumped to 4.1 per cent in the second quarter - the first increase since the lockdown began in March - as the effects of Covid-19 took their toll on the country's job market, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday.
Analysts expect the unemployment to peak in November at 8.9 per cent after the country’s furlough scheme to help employers retain staff comes to an end on October 31.
Ten per cent of the workforce remain on furlough leave, and 11 per cent of businesses were at a moderate or severe risk of insolvency, according to the latest Business Impact of Coronavirus Survey on Thursday.
Meanwhile, in another sign of volatility for the government, the UK inflation rate rose by just 0.2 per cent in August from July’s 1.0 per cent increase due to the government's restaurant subsidy scheme which aims to boost spending.
Keeping interest rates low is a boon for property investors, who are already benefitting from UK chancellor Rishi Sunak's temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday designed to stimulate the market.
"In recent days we've seen some lenders reduce the cost of mortgages at lower loan-to-value (LTV) ratios even further. However, anybody that needs finance at 85 per cent LTV and above are facing substantially higher rates than at the outset of the pandemic ... because lenders are now grappling with such a large volume of transactions that raising the cost of these mortgages ... is the most efficient way of controlling the flow of new applications."
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The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
England-South Africa Test series
1st Test England win by 211 runs at Lord's, London
2nd Test South Africa win by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
3rd Test July 27-31 at The Oval, London
4th Test August 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester
Biog:
Age: 34
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite sport: anything extreme
Favourite person: Muhammad Ali
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support
Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR
Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue
Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
AS IT STANDS IN POOL A
1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14
2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11
3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5
Remaining fixtures
Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am
Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm
Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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MATCH INFO
Liverpool 0
Stoke City 0
Man of the Match: Erik Pieters (Stoke)
SAUDI RESULTS
Team Team Pederson (-40), Team Kyriacou (-39), Team De Roey (-39), Team Mehmet (-37), Team Pace (-36), Team Dimmock (-33)
Individual E. Pederson (-14), S. Kyriacou (-12), A van Dam (-12), L. Galmes (-12), C. Hull (-9), E. Givens (-8),
G. Hall (-8), Ursula Wikstrom (-7), Johanna Gustavsson (-7)
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The 10 Questions
- Is there a God?
- How did it all begin?
- What is inside a black hole?
- Can we predict the future?
- Is time travel possible?
- Will we survive on Earth?
- Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
- Should we colonise space?
- Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
- How do we shape the future?
Race card:
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m.
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m.
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m.
8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m.
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m.
9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m.
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m.
