Bank of England cuts rates to 0.50%

View an online version of this email here.  All times are London time: Thursday Mar 05 2009 Breaking news Bank of England cuts rates to 0.50% The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee cut its key rate by half a percentage point, as was widely expected, and unveiled plans to combat slumping demand through "quantitative easing". Thursday's cut to 0.50 per cent from one per cent came despite pleas from banks that lower rates are hurting profit margins and discouraging them from lending. But because rates have been cut in the context of quantitative easing, the move will be interpreted as a sign of the MPC's determination to make lending as cheap as possible as it tries to revive a badly flagging economy. 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.