Bank holds rates at 0.5%; No change to QE

Today's decision - almost two years to the day since the Bank first cut rates to their historic low in March 2009 - comes as the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee remains deeply divided on policy. Last month, Spencer Dale joined fellow MPC members Andrew Sentance and Martin Weale in voting for a rate hike. With Sentance pushing for a bigger hike than his fellow hawks, the committee was divided in a four-way split. The growing division comes as the committee struggles to balance mounting inflation concerns - with the CPI index hitting 4% in January - with a sluggish economy. Fears the r...