Checkmate for King as QE stays on hold in final meeting

The Bank of England has opted against further quantitative easing at Mervyn King's final Monetary Policy Committee meeting, dashing the governor's hopes of more stimulus.

King (pictured) was expected to have voted for further QE at this morning's meeting, having done so for the previous four months, though voting decisions will not be known for a further two weeks. Regardless of his final vote, the MPC opted to leave both interest rates on hold at record lows and QE unchanged at £375bn. The MPC has been split 6-3 against further stimulus for the previous four months, with recent improvements in economic data seemingly strengthening the hawks' hand. Capital Economics said today it expects Mark Carney, who takes over as BoE governor this month, to ush...