The Bank of England cut its benchmark rate by one percentage point to 2% — a level not seen since 1951.
The Bank of England on Thursday slashed its key lending rate by a full percentage point to 2%, the latest in a series of steps taken by policy makers seeking to minimize the depth and length of a potentially long-lasting recession.
The move by the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee follows a decision last month to cut the key lending rate by an unexpectedly large 1.5 percentage points to 3%.
But recent economic confidence data offered no sign that the November move helped buoy activity or sentiment across the manufacturing or services sectors, economists noted.
And other data and events have only served to deepen the gloom surrounding the outlook for the British economy.
The ECB makes their announcement at 7:45am. A half point cut from 3.25% is widely expected.
UPDATE: ECB lowered the benchmark lending rate by 75 basis points to 2.5 percent
>
Sources:
Bank of England slashes key rate
William L. Watts,
MarketWatch 7:03 a.m. EST Dec. 4, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/5t33ql
Bank of England Cuts Key Interest Rate to 2%, Lowest Since 1951
Jennifer Ryan
Bloomberg, Dec. 4 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aVX9WZ1IqEKU&
What's been said:
Discussions found on the web: