Bank of England defends OBR’s independence against political attacks; UK banks pass stress tests – as it happened

Having resisted two invitations to comment on the Office for Budget Responsibility, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey can’t resist swishing at the third (has he been watching England batting in Australia?)Q: You have commented on political attacks on the Federal Reserve before, so are the political attacks on the Office for Budget Responsibility dangerous?Bailey reminds today’s press conference that there are good reasons why the Office for Budget Responsibility was created by George Osborne in 2010, telling reporters:The reason the OBR was created was to ensure there was a source of independent forecasting and an independent assessment of fiscal policy.That’s important, it’s important in many countries. Britain’s not unique… there’s nothing unusual about this absolutely core principle.So where attacks on the OBR are concerned, Bailey says we should “please remember why it was done and the principles underlying it”.However, it’s not for the Bank to get involved in “the day-to-day affairs of that”, he adds

BoE governor says it has not forgotten lessons of financial crisis, as it eases capital rules

The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, has attempted to reassure that the lessons of the 2008 financial crisis have not been forgotten, as he announced plans to loosen capital rules for high street banks for the first time since the global crash.The central bank announced on Tuesday that it will lower capital requirements related to risk-weighted assets by one percentage point to about 13%, reducing the amount lenders must hold in reserve.Capital requirements act as a financial cushion against risky lending and investments on bank balance sheets.The Bank’s lower requirements, which are due to come into force in 2027, are designed to make it easier to lend to households and businesses.However, it risks stoking concerns about weakening protections against UK bank failures, as the government continues to row back on regulations introduced after the financial crisis

Bid by Gina Rinehart’s company to build helipad set to be blocked by City of Perth

Gina Rinehart’s company has claimed helicopter pads are a necessity of modern business as it fights to install one at its new headquarters in West Perth.The City of Perth on Tuesday recommended councillors block the request from Hancock Iron Ore to install a helipad as it redevelops its offices.Designs provided to council show the helipad would sit 25 metres off the ground, directly above an in-house teppanyaki grill also proposed in the 53 Ord Street redevelopment plans.Hancock told the council a Bell 429 helicopter would use the pad up to 12 times a year and only during daylight hours but planning officers said it would be difficult to formally limit the helipad’s use.Dan Lees, an Element Advisory planner representing Hancock, told council on Tuesday night that private rooftop helipads – a rarity in Australia – were common in New York, London and Tokyo

OBR complained to Treasury before budget about leaks spreading ‘misconceptions’

The Office for Budget Responsibility complained to senior Treasury officials in the run-up to the budget about a flurry of leaks that it said spread “misconceptions” about its forecasts, it has emerged.Prof David Miles of the OBR’s budget responsibility committee told MPs on the Treasury select committee on Tuesday that the watchdog had raised the issue of leaks with the department before the chancellor’s statement last week.“I think it was clear that there was lots of information appearing in the press which perhaps wouldn’t normally be out there and that this wasn’t from our point of view particularly helpful,” he said.He added: “We made it clear that they were not helpful and that we weren’t in a position of course to put them right.”Miles was appearing before the committee after the OBR chair, Richard Hughes, resigned on Monday, taking responsibility for the inadvertent release of its budget documents about an hour before Rachel Reeves stood up to announce her tax and spending plans

OECD warns Reeves higher taxes and spending restraint will limit consumer expenditure

A leading thinktank has warned Rachel Reeves that tight government spending and higher taxes will restrict consumer expenditure, despite it predicting the UK economy will grow at a faster pace than France, Germany and Italy next year.Analysts at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said the government’s ongoing “fiscal consolidation” – meaning higher taxes and reduced government spending – would act as a “headwind” to the UK economy, with “past tax and spending adjustments weighing on household disposable income and slowing consumption”.The Paris-based organisation predicted that the UK economy would expand by 1.2% next year, while the big three eurozone economies would each fail to reach 1%.Offering a boost to Reeves after she faced calls to resign after the budget, the UK’s growth rate was upgraded from a previous forecast of 1% for next year

‘The Chinese will not pause’: Volvo and Polestar bosses urge EU to stick to 2035 petrol car ban

As the battle lines harden amid Germany’s intensifying pressure on the European Commission to scrap the 2035 ban on production of new petrol and diesel cars, two Swedish car companies, Volvo and Polestar, are leading the campaign to persuade Brussels to stick to the date.They argue such a move is a desperate attempt to paper over the cracks in the German car industry, adding that it will not just prolong take up of electric vehicles but inadvertently hand the advantage to China.“Pausing 2035 is just a bad, bad idea. I have no other words for that,” says German-born Michael Lohscheller, the chief executive of Polestar, Europe’s only all-electric car manufacturer.“If Europe doesn’t take the lead in this transformation, be rest assured, other countries will do it for us