Goodnightpublished at 21:31 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
That is all from the Business Live page for today. We'll be back from 6am tomorrow. Have a good night.
Summary
Bank of England cuts interest rates to 0.25%
FTSE closes up by 1.59% in London
Pound struggles, losing 1.4% against the dollar
Carney warns banks must pass on rate cut
Bank announces two new stimulus schemes
Bank expects no growth in second half of 2016
Goodnightpublished at 21:31 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
US shares close virtually unchangedpublished at 21:21 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
Wall Street shares showed very little change at close on Thursday, ahead of Friday's US payrolls report.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 3 points, the S&P 500 up half a point, and the Nasdaq Composite up 6.5 points.
How the rate cut affects mortgages and savingspublished at 21:09 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
In case you did not see it earlier, a visual guide
Kellogg's sales fail to 'snap, crackle and pop'published at 20:57 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
Image source, Kellogg'sAmerican cereal maker Kellogg's has seen its quarterly sales fall by 6.6%. The company blamed the recent volatility in Venezuela.
Demand for its breakfast foods and snacks dropped in both the US and Asia, although Pringles sales continued to grow.
BoE rate cut: Flawed thinking?published at 20:49 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC markets tweets:
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on TwitterThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Skip twitter postThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
End of twitter post...but IEA says rate cut move is misguidedpublished at 20:22 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
Quote Message"Today's decision to cut the base interest rate is both disappointing and ill-advised. The post-Brexit economic problems are down to consumer and business uncertainty and will not be solved by introducing monetary stimulus. By lowering interest rates, the Bank of England will distort the economy and potentially reduce growth.
Philip Booth, Research director, Institute of Economic Affairs
Adam Smith Institute backs UK rate cutpublished at 19:59 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
Quote Message"The Bank of England has done the right thing in cutting rates and starting a large quantitative easing programme. The short-term risks of Brexit must not be compounded by tight money, and with inflation rates already near zero there is little risk of excess inflation.
Sam Bowman, Executive director, Adam Smith Institute
'UK could owe EU £20bn'published at 19:40 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
Mark Urban, diplomatic editor at Newsnight, draws our attention to an exclusive by German newspaper Handelsblatt.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on TwitterThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Skip twitter postThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
End of twitter postBank of England's loose criteriapublished at 19:25 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
FT reporter notes a potential lack of detail in today's stimulus plan.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on TwitterThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Skip twitter postThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
End of twitter postWhy does UK productivity lag behind other nations?published at 19:13 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
The World at One
BBC Radio 4An interesting story from earlier in the day, looking at the thorny issue of why UK productivity is found wanting compared to other developed nations.
It seems issues of investment and skills are the key to improving UK productivity levels says the Federation of Small Businesses.National policy director Martin McTague spoke to James Robbins on the World at One soon after Theresa May hosted a meeting of small and medium sized companies in Downing Street at the same time that UK interest rates were being cut.
Media caption, The Federation of Small Businesses on UK industrial strategy.
Nationwide cuts ratespublished at 19:04 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
Nationwide Building Society tweets:
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on TwitterThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Skip twitter postThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
End of twitter postYou'll never believe what Facebook are doing...published at 18:53 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
Image source, FacebookMore on the Facebook clickbait war.
The social network says it is updating its news feed algorithm to detect so-called "clickbait" headlines, by blacklisting the following:
- If the headline withholds information required to understand what the content of the article is
- If the headline exaggerates the article to create misleading expectations for the reader.
In a blog, Facebook gives some examples of offences, external:
- “You’ll Never Believe Who Tripped and Fell on the Red Carpet…” withholds information required to understand the article (What happened? Who Tripped?)
- The headline “Apples Are Actually Bad For You?!” misleads the reader (apples are only bad for you if you eat too many every day).
Fitch: BoE's rate cut just a cushionpublished at 18:41 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
Zoe Thomas
US business reporter
Image source, ThinkstockRatings agency Fitch called the Bank of England's decision to cut rates "a proactive policy response to the EU referendum".
But it warned that the move was just a "cushion" that would not fully offset the economic impact of the UK's decision to leave the European Union.
"The referendum will take a significant toll on the economy despite sterling's fall potentially supporting exports," the agency wrote in a report.
War on clickbaitpublished at 18:31 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on TwitterThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Skip twitter postThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
End of twitter post'Grim news' for saverspublished at 18:22 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
Our personal finance correspondent tweets:
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on TwitterThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Skip twitter postThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
End of twitter postUS stocks largely static after UK rate cutpublished at 18:00 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
The UK interest rate cut has left Wall Street stocks decidedly unshaken.
US shares are barely changed in early afternoon trade in New York.
The Dow (see chart above) is up 3 points, the S&P 2 points, and Nasdaq 9 points.
What does rate cut means for the retail sector?published at 17:47 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
Image source, AFPQuote MessageThe widely expected interest rate cut by the Bank of England is unlikely to stimulate a flurry of retail spending. The impact on consumer confidence or spending could even be detrimental in the short term. With the immediate impact of the interest rate cut being a drop in the value of the pound this move is hardly likely to boost flagging consumer confidence, which is a major factor in driving spend. In addition, consumers will see returns on savings fall yet further. In theory, this is supposed to stimulate spend by making it less desirable to save, but there seems little evidence this has worked up to now.
Nivindya Sharma, Senior Analyst at Verdict Retail
Cable: 'Don't lean too heavily on monetary policy'published at 17:33 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
Referring to the rate cut, former business secretary Sir Vince Cable says: "Leaning too heavily on monetary policy is taking away from what the government should be doing in terms of the total budget, which is where the heavy lifting should be done."
Is the UK heading into recession?published at 17:31 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
BBC Reality Check tweets...
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on TwitterThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Skip twitter postThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
End of twitter postFord recalls 830,000 vehiclespublished at 17:21 British Summer Time 4 August 2016
Image source, FordFord has recalled 830,000 cars in North America due to potentially faulty door latches.
In certain situations, the company says "the door may unlatch while driving". It adds that it has identified "one reported accident and one reported injury" related to the issue.
The models in question are:
- 2013-15 C-MAX
- 2013-15 Escape
- 2012-15 Focus
- 2015 Lincoln MKC
- 2015 Mustang
- 2014-16 Transit Connect