A few years ago a “lock-in” involved a few pints in the snug after closing time with a select handful of fellow regulars. These days a lock-in means the confiscation of your phone and two hours in a windowless “sub vault” of the Bank of England with a dozen or so economic journalists. Yes, it is so-called “Super Thursday” when the Bank releases the latest decision of the monetary policy committee, the minutes of the MPC meeting and publishes its quarterly inflation report with its updated economic forecasts. Few are betting on a rate rise with City economists expecting a 6-2 vote to keep the Bank rate at the historically low level of 0.25 per cent. After the weak start to the year for economy,…

Source: The Times August 03, 2017 07:52 UTC