sterling

Sterling and gilt yields have jumped this morning after the latest Monetary Policy Committee minutes revealed Mark Carney and all other MPC members voted against more QE in July.

A member of the Monetary Policy Committee told the Treasury today that "all of the discussions" at the Bank of England are about extending the quantitative easing programme rather than slowing it down.

Investors backing the US dollar were caught out last night after Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said stimulus measures are likely to remain in place in the US for some time.

Aggressive selling of sterling following last week's guidance on rates from the Bank of England has taken the pound to its lowest level in three years versus the dollar in trading today.

The pound has fallen further against the dollar in early trading, deepening a slump that began yesterday after the Bank of England reassured investors about the future path of the base rate.

The pound could fall by as much as 15% against the US dollar from its current level, back to decade-long lows, if Mark Carney moves to devalue the pound via further QE over the next few years, PIMCO has warned.

Geoff Hitchin, manager of the Marlborough Global Bond fund, looks at how investors can protect their portfolios against any further weakening of the pound.

Legg Mason is introducing a sterling-hedged share class on its offshore Legg Mason Royce US Small Cap Opportunity Fund in response to client demand in the UK.

The Treasury has warned an independent Scotland could have dire implications for sterling, leaving the UK pound vulnerable to speculators.

UBS Global Asset Management is launching the UBS Sterling Corporate Bond Indexed fund, its first passive fixed income fund for the UK wholesale market.