Bank of England © fintag

News comments:
The Bank of England is a joke. Take this "conclusion" on why rates were kept at 0.5%.

Page 47 ir10nov5.pdf

"At its November meeting, the Committee judged that the recovery was likely to continue. The outlook for inflation in the near term was higher than previously expected, in part reflecting higher import prices. But inflation was still likely to fall back in the medium term, reflecting the continuing downward pressure from the persistent margin of spare capacity. In the light of that outlook, the Committee judged that maintaining Bank Rate at 0.5% and maintaining the stock of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at £200 billion was appropriate to meet the 2% CPI inflation target over the medium term. But the prospects for inflation remained highly uncertain and the Committee stood ready to respond in either direction as the balance of risks evolved."

If I were a school teacher, these are the comments I would make:

At its November meeting, the Committee judged that the recovery was likely to continue [ON WHAT BASIS WAS THIS JUDGEMENT? STOCK MARKETS GOING UP DOESN'T MEAN THERE IS A RECOVERY? DOES IT?].

The outlook for inflation in the near term [1 DAY? 1 MONTH? 6 MONTHS? BE SPECIFIC PLEASE] was higher than previously expected [WHY DID YOU GET THIS WRONG? PLEASE EXPLAIN], in part reflecting higher import prices [WHAT PERCENTAGE OF INFLATION IS FROM IMPORT PRICES? WHAT ARE THE OTHER FACTORS? WHAT ABOUT ALL THE MONEY BEING PRINTED?].

But inflation was still likely to fall back in the medium term [DEFINE PLEASE], reflecting the continuing downward pressure from the persistent margin of spare capacity [UH? YOU MEAN AUSTERITY CUTS? PLEASE EXPLAIN].

In the light of that outlook, the Committee judged [ON WHAT BASIS? THE STRENGTH OF THE COFFEE?] that maintaining Bank Rate at 0.5% and maintaining the stock of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at £200 billion [SEEMS A RATHER ROUND NUMBER? HOW LONG WILL THIS GO ON FOR?] was appropriate [WHY IS PRINTING MONEY APPROPRIATE? DOESN'T PRINTING MONEY CREATE INFLATION?] to meet the 2% CPI inflation target over the medium term [WHICH IS WHAT? 1 YEAR? 5 YEARS? PLEASE EXPLAIN].

But the prospects for inflation remained highly uncertain [WHY ARE THEY UNCERTAIN GIVEN THAT IS YOUR JOB TO KNOW OR AT LEAST HAVE A GOOD IDEA] and the Committee stood ready to respond in either direction [UH? THIS IS A GIVEN SURELY?] as the balance of risks evolved [WHAT RISKS ARE THESE? YOUR JOBS PERHAPS?].

Today's shorts:
Despite rates being at historic lows nobody can borrow (rtt)

Unless you want £400 from Wonga at 3000% APR (wonga.com)

Today's longs:
Factory Gates are to blame for UK inflation (reuters)

Gossip:
Bank of England's MPC to cut back on the quality of its biscuits.