The FTSE has spent the morning in reverse, dropping 44.56 points by 10.25am.

The blue-chip index continued yesterday's decline, slipping a further 0.85% in early trading to 5208.59. Miners were again dragging the index down the well, with Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys, BHP Billiton and Fresnillo all deep in the red. Disappointing earnings from Royal Dutch Shell were at the core of this fall down the mine shaft, after the oil giant missed analyst's estimates by around 4%. Vodafone is up 4.39% on the morning, after the company adjusted its operating profit up from between £11 billion and £11.8 billion to a more confident £11.4 billion to £11.8 billion.

The Bank of England will today announce its future plans for quantitative easing, with many expecting the policy to be brought to a halt. £200 billion has been spent on extracting the economy from the oily depths, and investors will watch with interest the response to such a move. And after yesterday's cautious response to positive employment news out of the US, this afternoon's initial jobless claims figures will be of keen interest on both sides of the pond.