But the Treasury select committee is still preparing a report for this autumn on how it should discharge its enhanced responsibilities.

ECONOMIST: Monetary policy

"The GOP would point out -- and they would be right -- that the approval rating in the autumn before an election is not a good predictor of how the election will turn out, " said CNN poll analyst Keating Holland, pointing out that Ronald Reagan's approval rating was in the 40-percent range in fall 1983, a year before he was re-elected in a landslide.

CNN: Poll: Bush down, Clark up

"This is really a story about how people unintentionally impact ecosystems, " explained co-author Autumn Oczkowski from the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography.

BBC: Egyptian farmers (Getty Images)

But, looking at what's happened to lending and other economic data since the Bank re-started quantitative easing last autumn, many in the City are wondering how much difference this extra liquidity is likely to make.

BBC: Bank of England sets sail with QE3