Bank of England

The Bank of England has again moved to temper expectations of an early rate rise, despite the UK unemployment rate dropping to close to the crucial 7% mark this morning.

Some of the largest investment trusts in the UK could be set for a performance boost when loans with double-digit interest payments expire later this year.

Labour will refer high street banks to the competition authorities if it is elected in 2015, Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, is expected to say in a speech on Friday.

The Bank of England (BoE) could lower the unemployment target it has said must be reached before it raises interest rates, according to some experts, as jobless figures fall faster than expected.

Business secretary Vince Cable has warned interest rates may have to rise to hold back a "raging housing boom" in London and the south-east.

The UK's headline inflation rate has fallen to its lowest level in four years after edging down to 2.1% in November.

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Bank of England Governor Mark Carney will act to prevent the housing market growing at 'warp speed', and said there are economic tools he can use other than keeping interest rates low.

The government's stake in part-nationalised lender Lloyds Banking Group is to be offered to the public, the government said today.

Shares in UK housebuilders have tumbled after the Bank of England said it will end the Funding for Lending (FLS) scheme for mortgages a year early.