The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

ECB cuts benchmark interest rate to record low 0.75% (from 1.0%):

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304141204577508390779869810.html

July 5, 2012, 8:29 a.m. ET

…The 0.25 percentage point cut—the ECB's first since December—was forecast by more than two-thirds of the analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires, and takes rates below the 1% low that was hit in the wake of Lehman Brothers' 2008 collapse.

…In a move that could help thaw frozen interbank markets, the central bank also cut its overnight deposit and lending rates by 0.25 percentage point each, to 0% and 1.50% respectively. Cutting the deposit rate could encourage banks to lend out excess funds overnight rather than stashing them at the ECB.