BOE’s Broadbent Sees U.K. Business Investment Accelerating

Bank of England policy maker Ben Broadbent said pressure on U.K. consumers is beginning to ease and business investment will probably accelerate this year as he offered an optimistic outlook for the economy.

“Near-term indicators of business investment are significantly more positive than the latest official data, which are subject to revision,” Broadbent, one of the nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee, said in a speech at the London School of Economics today. He said there should be no surprise that the recent “relative calm” and “gradual thawing” of credit supply is supporting business confidence.