Bank of England serves up a shock with its intensely gloomy outlook

The Bank of England on Thursday lived up to its promise to act “forcefully” to curb surging inflation, by announcing the biggest increase in interest rates for more than a quarter of a century.

But while the rise in borrowing costs was no more than analysts had expected, the central bank’s intensely gloomy view of the immediate economic outlook came as a shock.

BoE policymakers have stepped up the pace of monetary tightening…