Mr Bean appeared to signal a change of stance in a speech in Hull that is likely to mean quantitative easing (QE) is voted down next week, when the Bank’s nine rate-setters make their monthly decision. Until recently, most economists had expected the Bank to relaunch QE in November, with another £50bn injection on top of the £375bn completed. In July, when QE was last increased, two members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted against QE – including chief economist Spencer Dale. A swing against by such a senior figure as Mr Bean, who is deputy governor for monetary policy and a former chief economist, would ... (full story)