Bank of England

George Osborne has said the Bank of England's new Financial Policy Committee must provide "consistent messages" so it does not risk jeopardising the economic recovery.

The UK's stagnating economy avoided a triple-dip recession today after initial estimates showed it expanded 0.3% in the first quarter of 2013.

Mervyn King, the outgoing governor of the Bank of England, has warned central banks risk becoming more politicized as a result of their efforts to tackle the banking crisis and subsequent recessions.

GDP data published for Q4 2012 afforded a slightly better perspective on the year as a whole.

FIXED INCOME

The Bank of England has opted not to implement further quantitative easing and held interest rates at 0.5% for the 49th consecutive month.

It is hard not to feel ever so slightly sorry for the pointy heads over at the Bank of England as they contemplate what to do next about the various quantitative easing programmes, including the Funding for Lending scheme.

The Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee (FPC) has said UK banks had a £25bn shortfall in their capital requirements at the end of 2012, as stricter capital requirements impacted balance sheets.

The Governor of the Bank of England has said the financial crisis is "far from over" as he joined fellow central bank chiefs including Ben Bernanke to discuss economic policy.

Chancellor George Osborne has announced an updated remit for the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee that may see the Bank issue "explicit forward guidance" on interest rates.