Messy Bank Of England Decision Tips Pause After 10th Hike

The Bank of England hiked rates for a tenth consecutive meeting on Thursday. The 50bps move was the fourth half-point hike of the cycle. The BoE is walking a tightrope at a time of pervasive uncertainty in the UK, which has the dubious distinction of being the only G7 economy expected to contract this year, according to the latest IMF estimates. Inflation is still in the double-digits and a prolonged downturn is the BoE's base case, even as the slump is now expected to be "much shallower" than