Bank of England raises Interest Rate to 5%

[jfman]

Originally Posted by Pierre

The problem is that the BoE have one tool and one tool only.

Indeed, however it works to a Government mandated target for inflation in the good times and gets left with the only macroeconomic lever going - for wholly ideological reasons - in the bad times.

It suits the Government (as a concept - not just this one) to pretend the Bank is acting independently and play itself as a victim of circumstance. The Government wants to remove money from the economy, the Bank steps in.

The obvious alternative (taxation) gets avoided.

[1andrew1]

Hopefully, interest rates may have peaked. Inflation has fallen to 7.9%.
https://news.sky.com/story/inflation...-drop-12922655

[jfman]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Hopefully, interest rates may have peaked. Inflation has fallen to 7.9%.
https://news.sky.com/story/inflation...-drop-12922655

The consensus seems to be they still have some way to go, but it might be a slower rise next.

[ianch99]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Hopefully, interest rates may have peaked. Inflation has fallen to 7.9%.
https://news.sky.com/story/inflation...-drop-12922655

Food inflation is still at a frightening level though.

---------- Post added at 13:17 ---------- Previous post was at 13:13 ----------

Originally Posted by jfman

Indeed, however it works to a Government mandated target for inflation in the good times and gets left with the only macroeconomic lever going - for wholly ideological reasons - in the bad times.

It suits the Government (as a concept - not just this one) to pretend the Bank is acting independently and play itself as a victim of circumstance. The Government wants to remove money from the economy, the Bank steps in.

The obvious alternative (taxation) gets avoided.

You are correct, the Government can overrule the BoE if it so chooses.

Regards your obvious alternative (taxation), Middle England is so over leveraged that have little room here esp. if they are (nominally) the party of low taxation. Of course the real ability to raise sizeable funds via wealth taxation, closing off-shoring, loopholes, etc. is not discussed due to the nature of those pulling the strings.