BOE, ECB Decisions, U.K. Consumers, Yellen on Inflation: Eco Day

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Welcome to Thursday, Europe. Here's the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help you start the day:

The Bank of England is on the verge of a historic decision to deliver the first back-to-back interest-rate increase since 2004
The European Central Bank is set to decide how to respond to an inflation shock that's prompted traders to ramp up bets on interest rates being lifted
- ECB policy makers got a nasty surprise the day before this week's decision as inflation in the euro region unexpectedly surged again to the fastest pace since the creation of the single currency
The Czech Republic is poised to make a last, unusually large increase in interest rates before slowing one of Europe's most aggressive campaigns to fight inflation
Britons are about to discover how much living costs are set to rise, how painful the squeeze on incomes will be and what the government plans to do about it
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended the Biden administration's stimulus package that many blame for fueling inflation, though she conceded that describing rising prices as “transitory” was a mistake
- All three of President Joe Biden's nominees to join the Federal Reserve said they placed a high priority on tackling U.S. inflation
- Turkey's inflation rate likely accelerated to a near 20-year high in January, propelled by rising energy prices and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's push for lower borrowing costs
- The International Monetary Fund agreed to resume a $6 billion loan to Pakistan, marking progress in a program that's been moving in fits and starts since 2019
  - Pakistan, which has sought almost 20 bailouts from the IMF over half a century, wants to end its reliance on the multilateral lender
  - Brazil's central bank signaled the world's most aggressive monetary tightening cycle is closer to an end after delivering its third straight interest rate hike