AS IT HAPPENED Wildfire reaches Jasper Wednesday night, causes 'significant loss'
One of two wildfires threatening Jasper National Park reached the townsite Wednesday night and caused 'significant loss.'
The Bank of England said Wednesday it would buy U.K. government debt "on whatever scale is necessary" in an emergency intervention to halt a bond market crash that it warned could threaten financial stability.
Investors have been dumping the pound and U.K. bonds since the government of new Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday unveiled a huge package of tax cuts and increased borrowing aimed at getting the economy moving and protecting households and businesses from sky-high energy bills this winter.
Markets fear the plan will drive up inflation, forcing the Bank of England to push interest rates as high as 6 per cent next spring, from 2.25 per cent at present. Mortgage markets have been in turmoil all week as lenders have struggled to price their loans. Hundreds of products have been withdrawn.
"This repricing [of U.K. assets] has become more significant in the past day — and it is particularly affecting long-dated UK government debt," the central bank said in its statement.
"Were dysfunction in this market to continue or worsen, there would be a material risk to U.K. financial stability. This would lead to an unwarranted tightening of financing conditions and a reduction of the flow of credit to the real economy."
In other words, the Bank of England is worried that markets could seize up and that the economy — which it believes has already entered a recession — would suffer even worse damage.
To prevent that happening, the central bank said it would buy long-dated UK government bonds until October 14.
"The purchases will be carried out on whatever scale is necessary to effect this outcome," it added.
It reiterated that it would make a full assessment of recent developments at its next scheduled meeting in November and act accordingly.
"The [bank] will not hesitate to change interest rates by as much as needed to return inflation to the 2 per cent target sustainably in the medium term, in line with its remit," it said.
Yields on 10-year U.K. government bonds fell sharply after the Bank of England's announcement on Wednesday but remain elevated. They were last near 4.1 per cent, up from under 2.9 per cent at the beginning of the month. The pound continued its decline, however, sliding 0.4 per cent to below $1.07.
UK interest rates have risen seven times since December 2021. As part of its efforts to tighten monetary policy and get a grip on inflation, which now stands near 10 per cent, the bank is planning to sell £80 billion of U.K. government bonds each year. The bonds were bought as part of an effort to prop up the economy during the pandemic.
It said Wednesday it would retain that target but that the start of sales had been pushed back until October 31.
One of two wildfires threatening Jasper National Park reached the townsite Wednesday night and caused 'significant loss.'
Alberta has called in the Canadian Armed Forces to help assist with the worsening wildfire situation in the province.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country's democracy as he laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska Wednesday in what appears to be the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating together.
An analyst and an assistant coach with Canada Soccer are being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and 'sent home immediately,' according to the Canadian Olympic Committee.
After a handful of Australian water polo players tested positive for COVID-19 this week, questions have emerged around how the spread of the disease will be mitigated at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
A B.C. man who was hired to help a non-profit build a food hub but instead spent the money on personal expenses – including travel, restaurants, booze and cannabis – has been ordered to pay more than $120,000 in damages.
Two people are dead and two others suffered serious injuries following a shooting that police have described as a 'gun battle' outside a plaza in Scarborough, Ont. early Wednesday morning.
A local First Nations elder and veteran is helping to bring the Ojibwe language to a well-known film for the first time.
A cat who fled her Montreal home nearly a decade ago has been reunited with her family after being found in Ottawa.
A woman in Waterloo, Ont. is out thousands of dollars for a car crash she wasn’t involved in.
A swarm of bees living in a lamppost in Winnipeg’s Sage Creek neighbourhood has found a new home for its hive.
Around 100 acres of Manitoba Crown Land near the Saskatchewan border is being returned to the Métis community.
Nova Scotia is suspending the licensed Cape Breton moose hunt for three years due to what the province is calling a “significant drop” in the population.
A well-known childhood prank known as 'nicky nicky nine doors,' or 'ding dong ditch,' has escalated into a more serious game that could lead to charges for some Surrey, B.C. teens.
It's been more than a month since their good friend was seriously hurt in an accident and two teens from Riverview, N.B., are still having a hard time dealing with it.
Halifax bridges have collected thousands of coins from around the world.