The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee will tolerate missing the inflation target for the next two years in order to support the UK recovery, said Bank governor Mervyn King.

The Office for Budget Responsibility has downgraded its outlook for the UK economy.

Mark Carney has seen off fierce competition to land the job of Bank of England governor, replacing outgoing chief Sir Mervyn King next summer.

Bank of England governor Mervyn King has called the end of the recession in the UK and pointed to signs of growth returning to the economy.

The Federal Reserve has unleashed a third round of quantitative easing to support the US economy following a wave of poor data and a weakening labour market.

Barclays has confirmed Sir David Walker will succeed Marcus Agius as chairman of the bank on 1 November.

The Bank of England has cut its forecast for economic growth this year to almost zero and has predicted inflation will be below target in the medium term.

The UK economy shrank by 0.7% in the second quarter of the year, a far worse contraction than economists had forecast, keeping the UK mired in recession.

Inflation in the UK dropped in April, beating the consensus forecast.

Barclays has announced a surge in profits by over a fifth in the first quarter of 2012, ahead of an expected shareholder rebellion over executive pay.