Markets afternoon briefing

View an online version of this email here.  All times are London time: Thursday Feb 05 2009 FT.com - Financial Markets News UK interest rates cut by half a point to 1% Feb 05 2009 15:33 The Bank of England's monetary policy committee voted for a widely expected half-point cut in key rates to 1%, the lowest in the Bank's 315-year history Read more » FTSE falls as interest rates hit record low Feb 05 2009 14:38 The FTSE 100 weakened after the Bank of England cut interest rates by 50 basis points to a record low of 1 per cent on Thursday Read more » Sterling advances after rate cut Feb 05 2009 12:49 Sterling advanced on Thursday as the Bank of England failed to mention the possibility of quantitative easing after delivering a widely-forecast interest rate cut. Read more » Wal-Mart shines but fails to lift Wall St gloom Feb 05 2009 13:55 US stocks were set to extend the previous session's decline as investors digested a host of retail sales figures and economic data that provided fresh insight into the depth of the recession Read more » Swiss Re tumbles after loss Feb 05 2009 13:07 Shares in Swiss Re touched a seventeen year low on Thursday after the world's second largest insurer posted gruesome earnings figures and US billionaire investor Warren Buffet swooped to inject $2.6bn into the stricken company Read more » Freight costs jump on signs of demand rebound Feb 05 2009 13:44 The Baltic Dry Index, the benchmark for freight costs for dry bulk commodities, extended a strong rebound on Thursday taking gains over the last two days to almost 30 per cent. Read more » Qantas and Lend Lease fall to record lows Feb 05 2009 10:12 Across Asia Pacific, investors remained subdued as disappointing results from consumer staples Kraft and Sara Lee underscored the extent of waning consumer demand in Asia's largest export market Read more » ABOUT THIS EMAIL You have received this email because you have signed up for this briefing on FT.com Manage subscriptions | Unsubscribe | Change your email address Change whether you receive this email as HTML or plain text | Forward this email to a friend Privacy policy | Advertise | Contact © Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. The Financial Times Limited, registered in England and Wales number 227590. Registered office: Number One Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL. VAT number GB 278 5371 21.