While the short-term outlook is incredibly bleak, the prospects for the recovery have improved since the Bank of England's last meeting in November. We therefore think the Bank will opt against a move to negative rates in February, though never say never - the downside risks to the economy clearly outnumber the upside. When will life get back to normal in the UK? While the answer to that question remains highly uncertain, reports in the British press this weekend contained some helpful clues. We now know that the government’s vaccination programme has hit 200,000 people per day, and with more centres due to open in ... (full story)