They did not need to hike interest rates to save the currency and soothe investors.

ECONOMIST: Petri-dish economies: Poland

If the Fed delays too long, it will be forced to hike interest rates much more to fight that insidious inflation.

FORBES: U.S. Solvency Depends On Low Interest Rates

Thus, Bernanke does not want to create a triple-whammy hit to the economy by beginning to hike interest rates too soon.

FORBES: Markets Can Shake Off The Irish Bailout, We'll See About QE2

The stock market looked overvalued in early 1998, with a currency crisis under way in Asia and Alan Greenspan beginning to hike interest rates.

FORBES: Busted

In the short term, he says that the Federal Reserve's continued campaign to hike interest rates could bring on a recession or act to ignite inflation, rather than to dampen it.

FORBES

Interestingly, there is also a Plan C spelled out, if low growth is combined with high inflation - because we've underestimated the long-term damage done by the crisis (ie over-estimated the output gap) - hike interest rates and increase austerity.

BBC: IMF set out a 'Plan B' for George Osborne

We still just about see a 25 basis point hike in interest rates next month.

BBC: Inflation at record low

But even if the single currency's strength is not enough to prompt intervention, it may delay a hike in interest rates.

ECONOMIST: Brutal, in every sense | The

Then there will most likely be a hike in dividend and interest income tax rates as well as capital gains.

FORBES: Who's Afraid Of The Fiscal Cliff?

The Bank tried to play down the bad news on inflation, ascribing it to the hike in indirect taxes in July's budget and (for the headline rate) the recent increases in interest rates.

ECONOMIST: Pause for thought