Birmingham and Solihull business leaders are calling on the Bank
of England to extend its quantitative easing programme by a further
£25 billion on Thursday to ensure that the economy does not
falter at this critical time.
The consensus is that the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)
will keep interest rates unchanged on Thursday.
Will Rogers, Policy Adviser at Birmingham and Solihull Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (BCI), said: "In the wake of figures which
are showing a shock fall in UK output between July and September,
it is imperative that the local and national economy is handed a
boost through further fiscal stimulus.
"Bank lending remains in dire straits and the money supply is
weak with growth well below what is needed for a decent economic
recovery.
"Last week, the United States, the world's largest economy,
joined major countries such as France and Germany in emerging from
recession, leaving the UK lagging well behind.
"In the long term, the challenge in the UK is to get organic
growth (growth that isn't helped by fiscal steroids). However,
until we see the benefits of quantitative easing, the MPC must
continue to boost the money supply as there is no doubt that the UK
remains in recession."