Markets open Cautious

Currency exchange investors are cautious this morning as they await a key speech from the Bank of England's governor, Mervyn King. They are hoping he will give some indication that the current asset-buying scheme will be called to an end. So far, around 11 billion pounds have been spent on the programme.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 opened down as investors shied away from taking large positions - this was partly due to them waiting for key earnings data from the US.

And finally, the CPI index for the UK which measures inflation showed an increase for December. Again this is likely to affect markets but many inflation experts say that the jump is likely to be temporary.

Happy Tuesday.