BoE holds rates and warns on economy

The Bank of England has warned over an economic hit from coronavirus of close to 30% by the summer as it left interest rates at the historic low of 0.1% after recent emergency action. The Bank said it expects gross domestic product (GDP) to fall by around 3% in the first three months of 2020 and then plunge by a further 25% in the second quarter, although it cautioned over uncertainty over the forecasts.