Bank of England cuts rate to all-time low

The Bank of England cut its benchmark interest rate by 0.5% to an all-time low of 1.5%, noting that the world economy faces an “unusually sharp and synchronized downturn.” The benchmark is now at its lowest level in the bank's 315-year history. The bank has cut rates 3.5 percentage points since the beginning of October. “Measures of business and consumer confidence have fallen markedly,” said a statement released by the bank. “World trade growth this year is likely to be the weakest for some considerable time.” The half-point rate cut was less than the 1% cut that economists had been expecting but was lower than the 1.5% cut announced in November.