Economics / Markets

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) today held interest rates at their historic low of 0.5%.

The FTSE opened more than 1% higher on Thursday after Wall Street rallied the most in six weeks to edge back above the 10,000 point barrier.

The IMF has raised its estimate for global growth this year by 0.4% to 4.6%, reflecting a stronger-than-expected first half.

Updated 2pm: The FTSE posted triple-digit gains in afternoon trading today as renewed optimism about the banking sector buoyed investor sentiment.

The FTSE 100 suffered a 1.3% drop in early trading as growth concerns in the US led to renewed global jitters.

The Bank of England has made nearly £10bn in paper profits by buying UK government bonds as part of emergency efforts to pump money into the British economy.

Robert Prechter said on Tuesday he expects that as the U.S. economy sinks into a deflationary depression stocks will plunge.

The FTSE 100 is edging closer to 5,000 this afternoon as the US markets shared in today's global market rally upon opening.

The head of the UK's new fiscal watchdog will step down in the summer when his three-month contract expires, a spokesman for the Treasury said last night.

The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) says the UK economy continued to grow in the second quarter of this year, but warns the country must not "kid" itself the recovery is secure.