BOE's external MPC member Kristin Forbes in a scheduled speech 23 Nov
- levels of uncertainty could quickly shift up or down
And today's prize for stating the very obvious goes to the lady penning the speech entitled
"Uncertainty about Uncertainty"
- UK economy's strength suggests uncertainty dragging less on growth than normal
- reduced effect of uncertainty may be due to lack of tightening in credit conditions
- effect of uncertainty on investment, wages and productivity may only come after "substantial lag"
Nothing of note here, just the usual cautionary clap-trap.
More from Forbes:
"Uncertainty is the modern equivalent of a "whipping boy" for economics. A whipping boy was an official court position in the Tudor and Stuart monarchies. The boy was punished when the crown prince misbehaved, even if the boy played no role in the prince's transgression.
Similarly today, "uncertainty" is often blamed for any expected weakness in company earnings or broader economic growth - especially uncertainty around the UK's relationship with the European Union. For example, about one-third of profit warnings by UK companies in Q3 mentioned uncertainty around Brexit and sterling.
The BoE's agents cited uncertainty about the demand outlook and future trade arrangements as the biggest drag on investment intentions in their November update. Even the MPC minutes have recently set a record of averaging 15 mentions of uncertainty each meeting, up sharply from averaging less than 6 times per meeting since the Committee was created."
Full speech here
Meanwhile GBPUSD pushes lows through decent bids at 1.2380 to post 1.2372. EURGBP up to 0.8568
BOE's Forbes - In cautionary mode and stating the obvious
