Four ways to keep inflation at bay

Inflation is dominating headlines once again with the annoucement the UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI) annual rate of inflation has risen to 4.4%, up from 4% in January and more than double the Bank's target of 2%. The higher-than-expected increase comes just a day before George Osborne unveils his Budget and compares with a figure of 4.2% forecast by a 32-strong group of economists. Industry commentators had warned spiralling inflation would be a prominent trend in 2011 with Investec stalwart John Stopford saying inflation will be one of the three dominant themes this year. So what ...