UK Slashes Interest Rates to All-Time Low of 1.5%

The venerable Bank of England cut interest rates today by 50 basis points, trimming them to 1.5%—their lowest since the bank's founding in the 17th century. Investors had expected the move, although business organizations had pressed for a 100-point cut. Yesterday, Britain's finance minister admitted that the recession was "far from through"—and that earlier predictions of a 1.25% GDP contraction this year were too optimistic.
(More interest rate cut stories.)