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A passageway near the Bank of England (BOE) in the City of London, U.K., on Thursday, March 18, 2021. Hollie Adams | Bloomberg | Getty Images LONDON — The Bank of England on Thursday hiked interest rates by 50 basis points and dialed back some of its previous bleak economic forecasts. The Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 in favor of a second consecutive half-point rate hike, taking the main Bank rate to 4%, but indicated in its decision statement that smaller hikes of 25 basis points may be in the cards in coming meetings. The two dissenting members voted to leave rates unchanged. Crucially, the Bank also dropped the word "forcefully" from its rhetoric around continuing to raise rates as necessary to rein in inflation. "Annual CPI inflation is expected to fall to around 4% towards the end of this year, alongside a much shallower projected decline in output than in the November Report forecast," the Bank said. U.K. inflation came in at 10.7% in December, down sl...

The Swiss National Bank hikes interest rates again. FABRICE COFFRINI / Contributor / Getty Images The Swiss National Bank increased its benchmark interest rate Thursday for the third time this year, taking it to 1%. The central bank said it was looking to counter "increased inflationary pressure and a further spread of inflation" with the move. related investing news Bond king Gundlach says the Fed should not do more rate hikes after the latest increase Yun Li 11 hours ago Inflation in the country remains well above the Swiss National Bank's target of 0-2%, but is noticeably below the soaring rates of neighboring European countries. Switzerland's inflation rate remained steady at 3% last month, having dropped from a three-decade high of 3.5% in August. The central bank's 50 basis point hike Thursday came after it unexpectedly raised its policy interest rate for the first time in 15 years in June, taking it from -0.75% to -0.25%. It then entered positive terri...