Central bankers around the world took emergency action to end the market meltdown today with co-ordinated interest rate cuts designed to ease the credit crunch and lift to the global economy.
The Bank of England said at midday that it was cutting its key rate by half a point to 4.50 per cent even though inflation remains above target. The decision was due tomorrow.
At the exact same time, the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Swiss, Canadian, Swedish and Chinese central banks all announced similar cuts.
The emergency rate cuts came only a few hours after the Government set out a radical £500 billion package today to restore confidence in the UK banking sector and break the crippling logjam in credit markets.