Desperate times...
The Bank of England has announced a shockingly radical cut in interest rates of 1.5 percent.
This is the biggest single cut in interest rates since 1981 and takes them down to 3 percent - their lowest since 1955.
Here's what the Bank of England had to say:
The past two months have seen a substantial downward shift in the prospects for inflation in the United Kingdom. There has been a very marked deterioration in the outlook for economic activity at home and abroad. Moreover, commodity prices have fallen sharply.
Since mid-September, the global banking system has experienced its most serious disruption for almost a century. While the measures taken on bank capital, funding and liquidity in several countries, including our own, have begun to ease the situation, the availability of credit to households and businesses is likely to remain restricted for some time. As a consequence, money and credit conditions have tightened sharply. Equity prices have fallen substantially in many countries.
In the United Kingdom, output fell sharply in the third quarter. Business surveys and reports by the Bank's regional Agents point to continued severe contraction in the near term. Consumer spending has faltered in the face of a squeeze on household budgets and tighter credit. Residential investment has fallen sharply and the prospects for business investment have weakened. Economic conditions have also deteriorated in the UK's main export markets.
CPI inflation rose to 5.2% in September. The substantial rise since the beginning of the year largely reflects the impact of higher energy and food prices. But commodity prices have fallen sharply since mid-summer, with oil prices down by more than a half. Inflation should consequently soon drop back sharply, as the contribution from retail energy and food prices declines, notwithstanding the fall in sterling. Pay growth has remained subdued. And measures of inflation expectations have fallen back.
