It says something about the enduring status of Marks & and Spencer, the yoghurt to Y-fronts middle market retailer, that its weak Christmas trading statement has prompted calls for the Bank of England to cut interest rates. But when the Bank's monetary policy committee meets today it should consider all the data on consumer spending, and whether they are worse than expected.

In its last Inflation Report, back in November, the Bank implied it would cut rates once in the first quarter of 2008 and again before the third quarter. It has already made the first cut, by 25 basis points to 5.5 per cent, in December. The question is whether the news has been so unexpectedly bad that the MPC must cut again immediately.