Four ways the Bank of England could ensure a V-shaped recovery

At least we now know where Rishi Sunak is getting all the money from. The Bank of England has today unveiled the latest round of what should probably be called Covid rather then Quantitative Easing. It will print another £100 billion which in the roundabout way these things work will find itself in the Treasury’s bank account. That’s another couple of months of the furlough scheme paid for, with a bit left over for whatever grand-looking infrastructure scheme the guy next door is keen on this week.

And yet, in truth, the Bank should have been bolder. Just funding an eye-watering government deficit is neither especially healthy nor particularly innovative. Every major central bank in the world is doing that. In fact, the Bank could be a lot braver and pump money more directly into the parts of the economy that most need help.