Economics / Markets

The Bank of England today faces the difficult decision of whether to pump more money into the struggling UK economy by expanding its unprecedented £175bn quantitative easing programme.

The FTSE 100 dipped below the 5,000 mark today for the first time since 5 October.

L&G has reported the percentage of UK sales via IFAs fell for the first nine months of the year compared to the same period last year.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds have both agreed to defer bonuses in return for an additional £40bn of taxpayers' money as part of a deal with the Government that will break up two of Britain's biggest lenders.

No ‘one shot silver bullet' exists to solve banking's problems, FSA chairman Adair Turner said today.

Ministers are to sell off huge chunks of the state-controlled banks, despite warnings that taxpayers could lose billions of pounds in any fire sale.

UK house prices were higher year-on-year in October, marking the first annual rise for 19 months, the BBC reports.

The US economy has come out of recession, with annualised growth of 3.5% in the third quarter of 2009.

Consumers are paying off personal debts despite the continuing recession, according to the ABI's latest Savings and Protection survey.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is likely to vote to pump at least an additional £25bn into the economy, reports The Times.