When interest rates were cut to 0.5% in March 2009, few would have predicted that interest rates would have stayed low in UK, US and the Eurozone for so long. Interest rates have stayed at zero for several years – defying several predictions that they will rise soon. Who benefits from low-interest rates and who …
An explanation of what happens if there are net outflows of money from a country. Impact on: Real GDP (tends to fall) Employment Exchange rate – exchange rate will fall Balance of Payments – debit on financial account Confidence – if big outflows it can cause a negative spiral of declining confidence. Government debt – …
The real interest rate is the nominal interest rate – inflation rate. For example, if the Bank of England set base rates of 5.5% and the CPI inflation rate is 3.4%. Then the real interest rates is said to be 2.1% A higher real interest rate is good for savers and bad for borrowers. Note, …
The exchange rate is the rate at which one currency trades against another on the foreign exchange market If the present exchange rate is £1=$1.42, this means that to go to America you would get $142 for £100. Similarly, if an American came to the UK, he would have to pay $142 to get £100. …
Readers Question: Interest Rates are increased by the governments to bring down inflation rates, this makes exports price competitive as well, as a result, exports increase. However, an increase in interest rates can lead to an appreciation of the currency as demand for the currency increases. So this again increases the price of exports as …
Movements in the stock market can be quite volatile and sometimes movements in share prices can seem divorced from economic factors. However, there are certain underlying factors which have a strong influence on the movement of share prices and the stock market in general. Generally, shares will be in greater demand when investors have the …
Printing money creates a sense of nervousness amongst both economists and the general public. It immediately conjures up memories of hyperinflation in Weimar Germany in 1923 and Zimbabwe in more recent times. If a government prints money faster than the growth of real output it reduces the value of money and this invariably causes inflation. …
Interest rates have been cut to a record low of 0.25% – essentially due to grim economic news from the short-run demand side shock of Brexit. Economic theory states that in normal circumstances, lower interest rates should boost aggregate demand (AD). To give a quick recap, lower interest rates should in theory: Reduce the incentive …