Osborne ‘to hand Carney new powers'

Chancellor George Osborne is set to give incoming Bank of England Governor Mark Carney more powers in a bid to revive the flagging UK economy.

Osborne will resist calls for a fiscal stimulus package when he presents his 20 March Budget but is instead looking at new options for monetary policy, according to the Financial Times. Options reportedly being considered by the Treasury including giving the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee more time to bring inflation back to its 2% target level, giving it a dual mandate to target employment and inflation (like the US Federal Reserve) or targeting cash spending in the economy rather than price stability. Carney (pictured) is in favour of more flexibility but said last month there sho...