The European Central Bank (ECB) cut its main interest rate for the seventh and possibly last time to a record low of 1.0 percent to boost activity in the slumping 16-nation eurozone.

Bank of England to print £75 billion of emergency cash.

The Bank of England has made history by slashing interest rates to an all-time low of 1.5%.

The Bank of England has made history by slashing interest rates to an all-time low of 1.5%.

The US Federal Reserve has cut its key interest rate to the lowest level on record.

In the United States, the federal funds rate is the interest rate at which private depository institutions (mostly banks) lend balances (federal funds) at the Federal Reserve to other depository institutions, usually overnight.

Changing the target rate is one form of open market operations that the Chairman of the Federal Reserve uses to regulate the supply of money in the U.S. economy.

Following the decrease in Base Rate last Thursday by 1%, from 3% to 2%, the Gibraltar Government has to-day announced a series of measures to protect savers in Gibraltar Government Debentures and Gibraltar Savings Bank Debentures from the effect of plunging interest rates.

Under the existing scheme, pensioners get 0.5% above Base Rate. Base Rate has fallen to 2%, meaning they would now receive 2.5%. Under the new scheme pensioners who invest in Gibraltar Government debentures will continue to receive at least the 3.5% they were getting before last Thursday’s interest rate cut. In addition, the rate of 3.5% becomes a floor, and will remain the minimum rate they will receive regardless of how much further interest rates fall during the next 3 years at least.

For pensioners who want a guaranteed higher interest rate, there will be the option to buy Gibraltar Government Fixed Term 3 year Debentures paying the fixed rate of 4.25%, for the next 3 years. In the case of this higher yielding debenture, although the interest will be paid monthly, the capital cannot be withdrawn for 3 years.

Retailers must pass on interest rate cuts to consumers, says expert Roddy Kohn of KohnCougar.

The Bank of England has cut interest rates by one percentage point, from 3% to 2% - the lowest level since 1951.

The cut was in line with most economists forecasts, it follows November's 1.5% cut.

Interest rates are now at a 57 year low.

more soon ..

ECB Interest Rate Decision Analysis by Piet Lamens of KBC Bank.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has today voted to cut the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves from 4.5% to 3%.

Although inflation is higher than the set target, most economists think that the loominrecession will curb any inflationary pressure in the United Kingdom. A lack of economic activity at home and abroad means commodity prices have fallen sharply.

Disruption in the the global banking system and problems with funding and liquidity in several countries, including th UK, have seen a number of measures put in place to ease the situation. It is expected that the availability of credit to households and to businesses is likely to remain restricted for some time. As a consequence, money and credit conditions have tightened sharply.

The comittees cut was unexpected, most analaysts predicted a reduction of 0.5%-1.0%.

The cut has also been welcomed by the CBI. Ministers have been pressurising banks and building societies to pass te full cut onto customers.

The Committee’s latest inflation and output projections will appear in the Inflation Report to be published on Wednesday 12 November.

The minutes of the meeting will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 19 November.

The US Federal Reserve today cut  interest rates by a  half percentage point and it left the door open to further reductions if needed.

The unanimous decision takes its target for overnight bank lending to 1%, the lowest since June 2004. Wall Street was united in the opinion the Fed would lower rates, although opinions were split on the likely size of the move.

"The pace of economic activity appears to have slowed markedly, owing importantly to a decline in consumer expenditures," said the Federal Open Market Committee headed by Ben Bernanke (above) after the unanimous decision.  "Moreover, the intensification of financial market turmoil is likely to exert additional restraint on spending."

The U.S. central bank has cut benchmark overnight rates from 5.25% in nine steps over the past 13 months to counter a financial storm that started with the collapse of the U.S. mortgage market and spread around the world.

Fears of an acute recession have pushed U.S. stock prices down sharply during October, although equities enjoyed a large rally Monday. The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average was up before the Fed's decision, but turned lower after the central bank's announcement.