Bank of England

It's our weekly heads-up on the articles your clients may have read in the national newspapers over the weekend...

How much do you remember from the last seven days in financial services?

A leading Bank of England policymaker has said the base rate is likely to rise in "spring 2015" in unusually revealing comments made this afternoon.

Sterling fell slightly against most major currencies this morning after the Office of National Statistics reported higher-than-expected unemployment figures.

The UK inflation rate dropped to 1.9% in January, marking the first time it has fallen below the Bank of England's target of 2% since November 2009.

It is "not unreasonable" for investors to anticipate a 2% base rate as early as 2016, but increasing rates is still considered a last resort to tame the housing market, according to Bank of England policymaker David Miles.

Important lessons have already been learnt this year

Here are five stories clients may have read in the weekend’s papers…

Weaker US data and ongoing expectations of tighter UK monetary policy have helped boost gold and sterling respectively as the dollar loses ground.

Sterling has climbed against a basket of currencies including the dollar this morning after the Bank of England altered its forward guidance policy and revealed GDP is expected to overshoot expectations.