It's been an eventful few weeks since the Bank of England's committee last met. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the country is finally out of recession, growing by a tiny 0.10% in the last quarter of 2009.
Then, the annual rate of inflation rose from 1.90% to 2.90% in December, causing some people to speculate that the MPC will raise base rate by the middle of the year.
For now, however, base rate remains at 0.50%. So, in this eleventh month without a change, where are the best deals for savers, homebuyers and remortgagers, and borrowers?
Savings
Low interest rates and high inflation is a double whammy for savers and many people will be worried about what their accounts are paying.
Yet there are some base-rate busting bank accounts out there. For example, if you want an easy access account - where there are few or no restrictions on withdrawals - Scottish Widows' Internet Saver is paying 3.01%, although that falls after 12 months.
If you have a Lloyds TSB current account, you'll qualify for its Incentive Saver account, which offers 3.04%. However, there are some catches to watch out for. As well as only being available to current account customers, you won't earn interest in any month a withdrawal is made and this is a 12-month deal. After a year it converts to the standard Easy Saver account which is currently paying just 0.1%.
The market-leading easy access account is from Coventry Building Society, although it has harsher restrictions than most savings accounts. Its 1st Class Postal (4) pays returns of 3.15%, of which 1.15% is a bonus for the first 12 months.
You're only allowed four penalty-free withdrawals a year and the minimum amount to take out is £1,000.
Mortgages
Although there are some great mortgage rates out there just now, these tend to be reserved for people with substantial equity or deposits.
If you're remortgaging and have equity of at least 40%, HSBC is offering an excellent discount rate of 2.29% for two years. However, it is charging high fees of £1,499, so you may well be better off on a slightly higher rate with lower charges.
For example, if you have a deposit of at least 35%, first direct is offering a tracker that's currently at 2.39%, with fees of £999.
If you prefer the security of a fixed rate mortgage, Yorkshire Building Society has an excellent two-year rate of just 3.29% - although the fees are a considerable £1195.
Don't despair, though, if your deposit isn't huge. There are 35 lenders offering 90% loans, compared to 28 this time last year - so competition is gradually improving.
The best rate right now is 4.99% for a two-year tracker from Santander, with fees of £995.
Please note: Any rates or deals mentioned in this article were available at the time of writing.
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