According to George Osborne, the U.K. Finance Minister, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the economic outlook in 2012, despite the growing threat of stagnation brought about by its Eurozone neighbor. In a recent address, Mr. Osborne highlighted the government’s efforts to reduce a record budget deficit in the face of an economic slowdown, pointing out that inflation has lowered and interest rates have remained consistently low. Yesterday, the Bank of England reaffirmed its commitment to keeping those low rates, holding the benchmark lending rate at 0.5%. Read more
