The Bank of England injected a further £50 billion sterling into the economy today as the UK battles to stave off another recession.
The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted to increase the quantitative easing programme - effectively printing more cash - from £275 billion to £325 billion despite the risks it poses to the country's inflation rate.
The bank also decided to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.5%.
The QE move will draw criticism from pensioners' groups who have warned that further quantitative easing could leave more than a million pensioners "permanently poorer for the rest of their lives" due to the adverse effect money-printing has on annuity rates.
But business leaders said further stimulus would "support confidence" and welcomed the decision.
The boost comes amid mixed signs for the economy as surprisingly upbeat industry surveys for January conflicted with a downgraded growth forecast from think-tank Niesr, while economists warned of the potentially damaging impact of recent extreme weather.
