Since then housing prices and economic growth have cooled markedly."The RBA appears to have pulled off a significant coup," said Stephen Lewis, chief economist at Monument Securities. It was the latest price report to show four rate rises since November, when house price inflation was running at 14 per cent, have done little to slow the consumer.Nick Stamenkovic, at RIA bond brokers, said: "The consumer has not responded to recent rate rises and this decision shows the Bank will do whatever necessary to slow the consumer and take some steam out of the housing market."Abbey became the first major lender to respond yesterday, increasing its standard variable rate by 0.25 per cent to 6.5 per cent.Several analysts pointed out the UK had embarked on a path taken by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which raised rates twice last winter in the midst of a housing boom. "The question for the Bank will be one of whether they have got the balance right. One step too far at this stage will hurt a lot of homeowners."The Bank has grappled with how far it can raise rates to slow a booming domestic economy without delivering a fatal shock to households that are carrying a record £1 trillion (£1,000bn) of debt. Since November the MPC has taken a "gradual" approach - raising rates every three months to coincide with the publication of its updated inflation forecasts.Yesterday's move broke that pattern and raised speculation the Bank might start raising rates more often. John Butler, a UK economist at HSBC, said: "It marks the official death of the gradual approach and now they are stepping up the pace. I think it means more frequent, more aggressive rate moves from now on."This week, Halifax bank said house prices rose 2.2 per cent in May, taking the annual inflation rate back over 20 per cent for the first time in a year.

Since last November, their payments have risen by £60 - equivalent to £720 a year. If rates hit 6 per cent, a typical borrower will pay £1,750 a year more than they were when rates troughed at 3.5 per cent last summer, according to Clear Cut Mortgages."Today's rate rise is likely to hurt," said Ben Thompson, a director at the mortgage adviser. It said household and government spending had grown strongly, the housing market was buoyant [and] the labour market had tightened."Against that background, the MPC judged a further increase was necessary to keep inflation on track to meet the target in the medium term," the statement said.The decision will add £15 to the monthly mortgage bill for a typical borrower with a £100,000 mortgage. The decision means the Bank has abandoned its policy of "gradual" rate rises and experts said households should be braced for further hikes - with one warning rates could hit 6 per cent."Inflationary pressures are likely to continue building," the monetary policy committee said in a statement. Businesses and homeowners were hit by the first back-to-back rise in interest rates for more than four years yesterday, as the Bank of England stepped up its efforts to quell inflationary pressure from booming house prices. The Bank raised rates by a quarter point to 4.5 per cent, their highest level since October 2001 and the first successive monthly rise since February 2000. Its partner in the US, Verizon Communications, is understood to have the financial firepower to buyout Vodafone's 45 per cent stake in the mobile phone operation and has said it would like to become the sole shareholder in the business.However, Mr Sarin made it clear at Vodafone's recent annual results presentation that the company wanted to remain a "long-term" partner in Verizon Wireless with a partial sale of its stake in the next 60 days seen as highly unlikely..

Healso sold shares during the year, the annual report revealed. Under the company's short-term incentive plan Sir Christopher disposed of 799,152 shares although he retains 550,662 in the company's long-term incentive plan worth £709,000 at the end of the financial year.Julian Horn-Smith, the company's chief operating officer, earned £1.9m but has the biggest shareholding in the company's long-term investment plan which is valued in the annual report at £3.6m.In a separate development, Vodafone now has until mid-August to sell a $10bn (£5.4bn) stake in its US joint venture, Verizon Wireless. Mr Sarin's remuneration in his first year meant he earned more than Sir Christopher in his last full year as chief executive in 2003 when he took home £2.9m.Sir Christopher's share of the Vodafone pension scheme needed to pay his annual pension entitlement is valued at £15.5m. This included advice on finding a house and a search carried out by the company for schools for his children. The company also paid for his solicitor's fees, estate agent's fees, stamp duty on his house purchase and the removal costs associated with moving from California to the UK.