2 European central banks slash rates
« Thread Started on Dec 4, 2008, 7:32am »

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2 European central banks slash rates
Posted: 08:20 AM ET
By Catherine Clifford
CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Two European central banks slashed their key
interest rates Thursday in attempts to stem the recession.

The Bank of England cut its key lending rate to 2 percent from 3 percent,
and that followed a reduction of 1.5 percentage points to 3.0 percent on Nov.
6.

The Bank of England has never set its rate below 2 percent. It was last
at 2 percent in 1951.

The European Central Bank, which governs monetary policy in 15 countries,
cut its key lending rate by 0.75 percent to 2.50 percent.

Both central banks were widely expected to lower interest rates.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has lowered its key lending rate 9 times since
September of 2007 in an attempt to bolster the U.S. economy. At the end of
Oct., the Fed cut the key lending rate in the U.S. to 1 percent.