Will Bank of England have to step in again to mop up market mess?

Bond buy-up seems to have been a sound bet, but ending intervention after two weeks is more of a gamble

There are just a few hours to go before the end of the Bank of England's emergency bond-buying programme, brought in two weeks ago to limit damage to pension funds from a sudden fall in the value of UK government debt.

It is still unclear whether 14 days was long enough for the most at risk funds to shore up their cash reserves. When the bond market closing bell sounds at 4.30pm today, some of the weaker funds may face a cliff-edge.