MW: Bank of England launches more quantitative easing
By Polya Lesova
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The Bank of England stunned financial markets Thursday by announcing another round of quantitative easing, prompting a steep selloff in the British pound. The bank's monetary policy committee voted to increase the size of its asset purchase programme, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, by 75 billion pounds (around $115 billion) to a total of 275 billion pounds. The bank also kept interest rates unchanged at 0.5%. "The pace of global expansion has slackened, especially in the United Kingdom's main export markets," the bank said in a statement. "Vulnerabilities associated with the indebtedness of some euro-area sovereigns and banks have resulted in severe strains in bank funding markets and financial markets more generally. These tensions in the world economy threaten the U.K. recovery." In the aftermath of the announcement, the British pound dropped 1% to $1.5305 compared to $1.5453 ahead of the news.
