Bank of England

Total UK defined benefit (DB) pension deficits shrunk slightly in October but still stand at £228bn, according to figures from JLT Employee Benefits.

If interest rates rise next year, Stephanie Baxter finds it will not be the answer to schemes' funding troubles.

The monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Bank of England (BoE) has voted eight to one to keep rates at 0.5%.

The emerging market (EM) crisis sparked by China's economic slowdown will be much more damaging for developed markets than the 1997 Asian financial crisis, warn investors.

Top stories on PP online this week include Mark Carney warning fund giants and potentially higher FTSE 350 DB deficits.

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) 12-month rate edged up to 0.1% in July, the sixth successive month it has been at or around zero.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney has been speaking to the largest fund management houses about how prepared they are for a mass sell-off that could follow an interest rate rise.

Schemes have been warned against expecting a rate rise this year after just one of the Bank of England's (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members voted for an increase this month.

The Bank of England (BOE) is unlikely to increase interest rates until the beginning of next year even though real wages have grown 2.7% in a year, economists say.

Sterling has fallen after the Bank of England downgraded its growth forecasts for the UK economy while indicating it could start to raise interest rates in mid-2016.