Bank of England

WHEN SHOULD INTEREST RATES GO UP?

Sterling fell against the dollar and the euro after the Bank of England downgraded its economic growth forecast for 2011.

A series of quarter-point interest rate hikes will begin in May, according to analysts examining Bank of England governor Mervyn King's latest obligatory letter to the Chancellor.

The UK inflation rate rose to 4% in January, which is double the government's target and up from 3.7% the previous month.

The Bank of England has held interest rates at 0.5% and kept its quantitative easing programme at £200bn.

Banks will reveal salary details of their highest paid staff and lend businesses £190bn this year under Project Merlin, but their top earners will not be hit with a bonus tax, the government said today.

There is a "real chance" the Bank of England will raise interest rates as early as next week, says Skandia, with subsequent hikes pushing rates up to 3% by the end of next year.

Britain could suffer a jobless recovery like the one currently engulfing the US, an Institute for Fiscal Studies' (IFS) economist warns.

The Bank of England topped up Governor Mervyn King's pension pot by £1.4m after deciding to award him an early payout in 2008.

Martin Weale has called for an immediate 0.25% increase in the Bank of England (BoE) base interest rate, echoing the view of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) hawk Andrew Sentance.