http://www.economonkey.com because the economy is run by chimps Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:57:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 en http://www.economonkey.com/2008/07/01/government-to-increase-protection-for-savers/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/07/01/government-to-increase-protection-for-savers/#comments Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:56:04 +0000 Lance http://www.economonkey.com/2008/07/01/government-to-increase-protection-for-savers/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/07/01/government-to-increase-protection-for-savers/feed/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/28/britons-are-saving-the-lowest-amount-of-their-earnings-in-half-a-decade/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/28/britons-are-saving-the-lowest-amount-of-their-earnings-in-half-a-decade/#comments Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:21:11 +0000 Lance http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/28/britons-are-saving-the-lowest-amount-of-their-earnings-in-half-a-decade/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/28/britons-are-saving-the-lowest-amount-of-their-earnings-in-half-a-decade/feed/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/24/interest-rates-up-mortagage-approvals-down/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/24/interest-rates-up-mortagage-approvals-down/#comments Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:31:52 +0000 Lance http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/24/interest-rates-up-mortagage-approvals-down/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/24/interest-rates-up-mortagage-approvals-down/feed/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/22/how-the-uk-economy-works-part-2-hm-treasury/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/22/how-the-uk-economy-works-part-2-hm-treasury/#comments Sun, 22 Jun 2008 13:50:43 +0000 Alex http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/22/how-the-uk-economy-works-part-2-hm-treasury/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/22/how-the-uk-economy-works-part-2-hm-treasury/feed/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/21/city-boys-squealing-over-proposed-short-selling-regulations/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/21/city-boys-squealing-over-proposed-short-selling-regulations/#comments Sat, 21 Jun 2008 09:08:35 +0000 Lance http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/21/city-boys-squealing-over-proposed-short-selling-regulations/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/21/city-boys-squealing-over-proposed-short-selling-regulations/feed/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/17/inflation-its-worse-than-you-think/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/17/inflation-its-worse-than-you-think/#comments Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:45:18 +0000 Lance http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/17/inflation-its-worse-than-you-think/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/17/inflation-its-worse-than-you-think/feed/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/06/alistair-darling-wants-to-put-the-lunatics-in-charge-of-the-asylum/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/06/alistair-darling-wants-to-put-the-lunatics-in-charge-of-the-asylum/#comments Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:17:59 +0000 Lance http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/06/alistair-darling-wants-to-put-the-lunatics-in-charge-of-the-asylum/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/06/06/alistair-darling-wants-to-put-the-lunatics-in-charge-of-the-asylum/feed/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/05/29/the-uk-economy-part-1-the-bank-of-england/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/05/29/the-uk-economy-part-1-the-bank-of-england/#comments Thu, 29 May 2008 14:58:07 +0000 Alex http://www.economonkey.com/2008/05/29/the-uk-economy-part-1-the-bank-of-england/ here, for example), but there's more to the economy than money itself. In fact, arguably more important than money is the way in which that money is moved around the economic system of the UK. Over the next few articles I'm going to look at each of the main institutions involved in the movement and management of money in the UK. I'll be looking at the Treasury, the FSA, the City of London as a whole and, to start with, the Bank of England (you may have spotted the one glaring hole in this list, more important than all the rest, which I'll cover at at a later date). The Bank of England is not a bank in the traditional sense. You can't deposit your money there directly, and nor can you borrow from it directly. Banks, however, can. This is the fundamental aspect of one of the Bank's stated core purposes: to maintain financial stability in the UK economy. By lending to banks that are suffering from cash-flow problems, unusual circumstances or moronic management, the Bank can act as a buffer to prevent problems in one area of the economy spilling over into others. Hopefully. To quote from the Bank's own documents: "Financial stability entails detecting and reducing threats to the financial system as a whole. Such threats are detected through the Bank’s surveillance and market intelligence functions. They are reduced by strengthening infrastructure, and by financial and other operations, at home and abroad, including, in exceptional circumstances, by acting as the lender of last resort." You may feel a hollow laugh coming on at this point, given the last year's experience of a crumbled, nationalised bank, a bursting bubble of overpriced housing, rising inflation - especially in food and fuel - and incomes that fail to match expenses. It doesn't look much like financial stability, does it? ]]> http://www.economonkey.com/2008/05/29/the-uk-economy-part-1-the-bank-of-england/feed/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/05/29/the-uk-property-market-is-crashing-and-not-a-minute-too-soon/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/05/29/the-uk-property-market-is-crashing-and-not-a-minute-too-soon/#comments Thu, 29 May 2008 11:58:56 +0000 Lance http://www.economonkey.com/2008/05/29/the-uk-property-market-is-crashing-and-not-a-minute-too-soon/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/05/29/the-uk-property-market-is-crashing-and-not-a-minute-too-soon/feed/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/05/28/huge-increase-in-financial-services-complaints/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/05/28/huge-increase-in-financial-services-complaints/#comments Wed, 28 May 2008 12:24:49 +0000 Lance http://www.economonkey.com/2008/05/28/huge-increase-in-financial-services-complaints/ http://www.economonkey.com/2008/05/28/huge-increase-in-financial-services-complaints/feed/