Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned on the complications of withdrawing monetary stimulus - just hours before the US Federal Reserve may announce a tapering of its own asset purchase programme.
The Bank of England has sharply revised its unemployment forecasts but emphasised this does not mean it is guaranteed to hike rates once the 7% threshold is reached.
London's leading share index fell quickly into the red after new Bank of England (BoE) governor Mark Carney unveiled plans to issue forward guidance on interest rates.
The Bank of England has said market expectations of future rate rises are "not warranted", sparking a drop in sterling and a 50 point jump in the FTSE 100.
Bank of England (BoE) governor Mervyn King was defeated in his final bid to inject more stimulus into the UK economy, minutes from last month's minutes show.
The continued weakness of sterling against the US dollar has prompted fund buyers to move out of sterling-hedged share classes and into unhedged or dollar-denominated positions.
Leading UK equity managers are backing housebuilder shares as government policies set the scene for further outperformance.