Definition for bill of exchange: A bill of exchange is a short dated security used to finance foreign trade. It can be cashed at any time by the supplier Examples – bills of exchange In the Commonwealth almost all jurisdictions have codified the law relating to negotiable instruments in a Bills of Exchange Act, e.g. …
Readers Question: Does low inflation always mean low-interest rates? Generally low inflation will lead to low-interest rates. Although in practice there may be some divergence. The UK has an inflation target of CPI = 2%. Therefore, interest rates are used to achieve this target. If inflation falls to below 2% the MPC will cut rates …
For manufacturing investment, the real interest rate is important for determining the viability of investment. Lower interest rates make it cheaper to borrow. Therefore lower interest rates tend to encourage business investment. High real interest rates discourage investment. How interest rates affect the efficiency of investment At lower interest rates, the marginal efficiency of capital …
Interest rates swaps are a way for financial bodies to exchange risk on the movement of interest rates. They were originally designed as a way for firms to avoid exchange rate controls because interest rate swaps can be done in different currencies. Interest rate swaps are one of the most common type of derivatives and …
Readers Question: What does it mean when Bank of England cuts interest rates by 50 base points? A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. If the Bank of England cuts interest rates by 0.50% from 1.5% to 1.0%. This is a cut of 50 basis points. Usually, interest rates are cut in small …
Table of contents
Latest figures on UK National Debt. What National Debt is. Why National Debt is increasing?
Recently the ONS produced a long-term forecast for spending and taxation. It makes for grim reading. Assuming policy doesn’t change, they forecast UK debt will rise to levels last seen in the Napoleonic Wars. This forecast also assumes there are no external shocks like Covid or the Ukraine war. At the same time, bond investors …