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divdiv class=story-body readability=48 span class=story-date#13; span class=date13 November 2013/span#13; span class=time-textLast updated at /spanspan class=time07:46 ET/span#13; #13; /span#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; #13; #13; !-- Embedding the video player --#13; !-- This is the embedded player component --#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; #13; #13; #13; !-- wwrights check --#13; !-- Empty country is used on test environment --#13; #13; #13; #13; div class=videoInStoryC readability=2#13; div id=emp-24926207-10465 class=emp#13; #13; #13; noscript#13; div class=warning readability=1#13; img class=holding src=http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71086000/jpg/_71086936_71086935.jpg alt=Mark Carney/pstrongPlease turn on JavaScript./strong Media requires JavaScript to play./p#13; /div#13; /noscript#13; #13; !-- embedding script --#13; #13; /div#13; !-- companion banner -- #13; #13; #13; #13; !-- END - companion banner --!-- caption --p class=captionMark Carney: For the first time in a long time, you do not have to be an optimist to see the glass is half full/p#13; !-- END - caption --#13; #13; #13; #13; /div#13; !-- end of the embedded player component --#13; #13; !-- Player embedded -- p class=introduction id=story_continues_1Bank of England governor Mark Carney says the UK recovery has taken hold and unemployment will fall sooner than it had forecast. /p#13; pThe comments came in the a href=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/inflationreport/ir1201.aspxBank's latest quarterly inflation report/a, which raised the forecast for UK economic growth this year and next. /p#13; pMr Carney has said the Bank will not consider raising interest rates until the jobless rate falls to 7% or below./p#13; pOn Wednesday, the UK unemployment rate was reported at 7.6%, down from 7.8%./p#13; div class=story-feature narrow#13; a class=hidden href=#story_continues_2Continue reading the main story/a h2 class=quote“spanStart Quote/span/h2#13; blockquote readability=2p class=first-childThere are still hurdles to overcome before growth gets back to a sustainable level, including boosting business investment and trade”/p/blockquote#13; span class=endquoteEnd Quote/span#13; span class=quote-creditKatja Hall/span#13; span class=quote-credit-titleCBI/span#13; #13; /div p id=story_continues_2Growth for this year is forecast to be 1.6%, up from 1.4% previously thought, and for next year, annual growth is expected to be 2.8%, rather than the 2.5% it predicted in August./p#13; pThe report said: In the United Kingdom, recovery has finally taken hold. The economy is growing robustly as lifting uncertainty and thawing credit conditions start to unlock pent-up demand./p#13; span class=cross-headChances/span#13; pIt has given a range of forecasts of when it thinks unemployment could fall to 7%. The most optimistic of these is next year, two years ahead of the time frame it gave in August. /p#13; pThe odds for this are low, though. /p#13; pThe Bank said: The MPC [Monetary Policy Committee] attaches only a two-in-five chance to the... unemployment rate having reached the 7% threshold by the end of 2014. /p#13; pThe corresponding figures for the end of 2015 and 2016 are around three in five and two in three respectively./p#13; pThe Bank said on Wednesday that it was not planning to raise interest rates any time soon from their current record low of 0.5%./p#13; pEven when - and if - the jobless rate reaches 7% the Bank will not automatically move to change the cost of borrowing./p#13; pThe chief policy director of the business lobby group, the CBI, Katja Hall, said: The Bank's forecast confirms businesses' view that the UK economic recovery is on track. /p#13; pBut there are still hurdles to overcome before growth gets back to a sustainable level, including boosting business investment and trade. /p#13; span class=cross-headHousing/span#13; pInterest rate decisions are traditionally used to control inflation./p#13; pThere is no obvious pressure for an interest rate rise on that basis, as this week, official figures said inflation had fallen from 2.7% to 2.2% in October. /p#13; pHowever, house price inflation is at worryingly high levels in certain parts of the country. /p#13; pMr Carney said this was largely affecting more expensive properties: In terms of housing valuation, there are clearly areas in the country where valuation is very elevated. /p#13; pWhat we are seeing across the UK is the greatest price momentum is for houses that are towards the upper end of the valuation spectrum./p#13; pOne of the Bank's regulatory bodies, the Financial Policy Committee, is charged with looking out for signs of an overheating property market. /p#13; pMr Carney said it was on the look-out for any bubbles, but that there did not seem to be any looming: The Financial Policy Committee will be vigilant about potential risks there, but we need to put the pick-up in housing activity in perspective. /p#13; pActivity levels, while they've picked up, are still running at between two-thirds or three-quarters of historic averages in terms of whether it's transactions or approvals, homebuilding, so there is some room for that to further pick up./p#13; /div/divbrbrcentera href=http://www.wizardrss.comPowered By WizardRSS.com/a | a href=http://www.wizardrss.comFull Text RSS Feed/a | a href=http://www.amazon.com/RFID-Blocking-Cards-Identity-Protector/dp/B00CJHZLEWRFID/a | a href=http://www.wpzonbuilder.comAmazon Affiliate/a/center