Oh dear. It seems that the Bank of England Governor is suffering from a permanent case of foot-in-mouth syndrome. Andrew Bailey – whose tenure at Threadneedle Street has done little for the Bank’s reputation – has caused needless headlines with another Eeyore-esque interview about the UK economy. Speaking, bizarrely, to local media in Newcastle, the head of one of the world’s most powerful central banks decided that now would be the perfect time to cast doubt on his country’s growth prospects. Bailey told the Newcastle Chronicle that:
If you look at what I call the potential growth rates of the economy, there’s no doubt it’s lower than it has been in much of my working life. It does concern me that the supply side of the economy has slowed. It does concern me a lot.
Almost like the guys in charge of managing inflation, interest rates and money supply might have some questions to answer, eh? The timing of these remarks is nothing short of extraordinary: landing on a day when 200 CEOs and major investors from all over the world have been summoned in London by the British government. Steerpike suspects Andrew Bailey won’t be top of Jeremy Hunt’s Christmas card list, given his efforts to overshadow the big government investment shindig at Hampton Court Palace today.
At least Mark Carney got his timings right when he chose to make his Cassandra-like pronouncements…
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