THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Bank of England left interest rates on hold and did not extend its bond purchases on Thursday amid tentative signs that the recovery is gaining momentum.
The Monetary Policy Committee kept quantitative easing at £375bn and rates at a record low of 0.5pc.
Thursday's decision followed bettter-than-expected 0.3pc first-quarter GDP growth and encouraging PMI services, manufacturing and construction data in April.
Economists were not surprised by the outcome of the meeting, which is Sir Mervyn King's penultimate before he hands over to new governor Mark Carney in July.
Many commentators believe policymakers will not do much until the new governor arrives.
"Barring any nasty surprises, the MPC is likely to remain on hold until ... Carney's arrival in July. More policy certainty may then be established, potentially supporting business and household confidence," said Stephen Gifford of the CBI. » | Martin Strydom | Thursday, May 09, 2013
My comment:
What I'd like to know is this: How could it be announced in the Queen's Speech yesterday that David Cameron's government will keep interest rates low for the foreseeable future in order to stimulate the economy when some years ago it was announced that the Bank of England would henceforward be independent. Surely, the Queen's Speech has shown the independence of the BoE to be a sham. – © Mark
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