Business news: BoE raises rates, UK economy hit by Omicron
By Jenny McCall
12:55, 16 December 2021
Key points
- The Bank of England has increased interest rates. To lessen the pressure of inflation, the UK central bank raised its main bank rate to 0.25% today.
- Omicron has hit the UK economy in the last few weeks and renewed business uncertainty, according to IHS Markit/CIPS flash UK composite PMI data.
- The US Federal Reserve (Fed) announced last night that it will speed up the process by which it removes the pandemic support it put in place.
- New Zealand’s gross domestic product (GDP) has been hit by Covid, it was announced today. GDP fell by 3.7% on a sequential basis for the quarter ended 30 September 2021, the second largest fall on record, as lockdowns related to the Delta variant hurt economic activity.
The @BankOfEngland just announced a 25 basis points hike in interest rates.
— Mohamed A. El-Erian (@elerianm) 16 December 2021
This policy move reinforces my view that, among the major #CentralBanks, the #BoE has been ahead in understanding the #inflation dynamics and their implications for policy#economy #markets #EconTwitter
Business and economic news
- Social news website and online message boards operator Reddit has submitted a draft registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock.
- Swiss-based pharma giant Novartis announced that it will initiate a share buyback of up to $15bn, to be executed by the end of 2023.
IPO for Reddit. https://t.co/UKOYrPMx2H
— Drew Olanoff (@yoda) 16 December 2021
Markets
Stocks: US stock index futures rose higher on Thursday after the Fed announced a faster wind-down of its pandemic-era stimulus.
Oil: Crude oil rose towards $75 on Thursday, supported by falling stockpiles.
Gold: Prices climbed today as the Fed announced it would quicken the end of its pandemic support package. Spot gold XAU rose 0.5% to $1,784.97 per ounce by 09:41 UTC, while US gold futures GCV1 jumped 1.2% to $1,786.00.
Forex: The pound climbed 0.7% to $1.3352 against the dollar and was up 0.5% to £0.8464 versus the euro in the moments following the Bank of England’s decision at midday on Thursday.
Crypto: Ether increased by 5.64% and bitcoin rose by 2.06% today in afternoon trading.
Things to watch this week
Boeing blow: Qantas (QAN) announced today that its preferred supplier will no longer be Boeing (BA) but the European plane manufacturer Airbus (AIR).
Read more: Bank of England raises base rate to 0.25%
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