ECB cuts main lending rate 0.5 points
16-01-2009
The European Central Bank has lowered its main interest rate by half a percentage point to 2.0 percent, cutting the cost of borrowing for the fourth time since October amid fears of a deep recession. Meanwhile the EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen has called a ministerial meeting in Brussels to discuss the troubled car industry. The announcement came after the European automakers association ACEA reported that new car sales in Europe slumped by 7.8 percent in 2008, marking the biggest annual drop in 15 years.
