Bank of England

Consumers are not reaping the benefits of historically low interest rates as banks look to buffer their capital reserves in light of the financial crisis, says the Bank of England.

Advisers are set to turn their backs on conventional annuities and recommend asset-backed alternatives as annuity rate crashes continue to plague retirees.

Mervyn King has accepted the role financial services played in leading the country into recession and admitted policymakers did not do enough to prevent it.

Mervyn King will today become only the second Bank of England governor to address the TUC when he speaks at the union's conference in Manchester.

Inflation was unchanged at 3.1% in August, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The Bank of England has held interest rates at 0.5%, marking the 18th consecutive month they have been at this historical low.

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A cooling global economy and an impending austerity squeeze in Britain will make the Bank of England (BoE) wait well into next year before hiking interest rates, a poll of 60 economists suggests.

Mortgage lending in July was little changed month-on-month but significantly above analysts' forecasts, the latest Bank of England figures show.

UK inflation dropped marginally to 3.1% in July but remains well above the Government's 2% target.