Bank of England denies crisis talks

The Bank of England today poured cold water on reports of an emergency meeting with top City economists over its radical quantitative easing policy.

Bank insiders dismissed claims it was summoning London's leading economists to Threadneedle Street for a crisis meeting as the pound dives against the dollar and the euro.

The Bank said the meeting scheduled for Tuesday was merely intended to update the City on the scheme's progress now that quantitative easing has been running for six months.

Sterling ticked slightly higher against the dollar — up 0.09 cents to $1.6350 — but was weaker against the single currency with the euro up 0.14p to 90.28p.

The pound has been under pressure since the Bank extended its quantitative easing programme by £50 billion to £175 billion in August.

Governor Mervyn King wanted to raise it even more to £200 billion, and although he was outvoted, many in the City believe the Bank may extend the programme again, possibly in November.

The controversial scheme — seen by many as a form of printing money in a similar way to Zimbabwe and Weimar Germany — has its detractors and some fear the pound's slump shows markets are losing faith.

There has also been speculation that the Bank might cut the interest rate it pays on the reserves banks hold there.

The seminars on Tuesday will be held by Bank deputy governor Charlie Bean, chief economist Spencer Dale, and executive director for markets Paul Fisher.