Bank of England

The Bank of England's surprise decision last week to increase its quantitative easing programme by £75bn will lead to further stimulus in February, according to economists.

One of the surest things in the markets at the moment is that the Bank of England will miss its inflation target of 2% and the governor, Mervyn King, will have to write a letter to the Chancellor.

Bank of England governor Mervyn King has described the current financial crisis as the "most serious" the UK has seen for at least 80 years.

Mervyn King has warned Chancellor George Osborne the UK recovery is facing a growing threat from the euro crisis and deteriorating conditions in financial markets.

Invesco's John Greenwood has warned further QE in the UK is unlikely to lead to a rebound in economic growth as he said there was "no quick fix" to the country's economic woes.

The Bank of England has increased its quantitative easing programme by a more than expected £75bn in a bid to kick-start the UK's ailing economy, while leaving interest rates on hold at 0.5%.

Speculation is mounting the Bank of England may be close to cutting base rates to 0.25% and pumping at least £50bn more into the economy through quantitative easing.

The Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee (FPC) has urged banks to curtail bonuses in order to be prepared for further financial shocks.

F&C's Ted Scott has called on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to abandon plans for QE2 and buoy the economy using fiscal measures.

The case for further QE in the UK "significantly strengthened" in the past month, with any repeat of recent economic woes likely to lead to further stimulus, the MPC has said.