Bank of England cuts interest rates by 50 basis points

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) followed in the footsteps of the US Federal Reserve, among others, voting unanimously at a special meeting to slash the Bank Rate to 0.25%. The BoE said the cut would "help to support business and consumer confidence at a difficult time, to bolster the cash flows of businesses and households, and to reduce the cost, and to improve the availability, of finance". It added that while the "magnitude of the economic shock" is still highly uncertain, "activity is likely to weaken materially in the United Kingdom over the coming months". The cut comes a...