Bank of England Governor Mervyn King believes interest rates in Britain will stay lower for longer than the markets expect to compensate for the fiscal pain ahead.
He is believed to have told senior American economist David Hale that the tax increases and spending cuts needed in the UK would be so unpopular they would keep the party that introduced them "out of power for a whole generation", the Times reports. After the meeting with King, on March 11, Hale attended a drinks party and a breakfast meeting the following morning. Both gatherings were off the record but, according to people present, he also said King believed to compensate for the fiscal pain ahead, the Bank would need to keep interest rates extremely low. Bank rates are currently a...
To continue reading this article...
Join Investment Week for free
- Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
- Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
- Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
- Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
- Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes