MPC split over decision to hold rates - papers 22nd March

David Blanchflower, the Dartmouth College labour economist, called for a quarter-point reduction to 5% - the first time a member of the nine-strong committee has voted for a cut since May last year. He argued there was considerable evidence of spare capacity in the labour market and wage pressures were benign. "The degree of monetary tightening, in conjunction with benign wage inflation, had started to push down consumption and housing market activity," he said, adding the service sector was looking weaker and inflation was likely to decline faster in the short term than in the MPC's ...