Central banks in no rush to hike interest rates

The general rule of thumb for markets is that when economies slow down, central banks cut interest rates and then they increase them again as economies regain momentum.

The past number of years has been pretty unique in economic history, in terms of the severity of the recession and, then, the weakness of the upturn that followed.

It is hard to believe that even by early 2013, GDP or the level of economic output, in both the UK and the eurozone was still some 3% below its level at end 2007, ahead of the recession.