UK lowest interest rate since 1694 (not typo) & Gold news

UK lowest interest rate since 1694 (not typo) & Gold news

finance.yahoo.com

LONDON (AP) -- The Bank of England on Thursday cut interest rates to the lowest level in its 315-year history, taking it into uncharted territory as it attempts to ward off a prolonged recession.

The half point cut in interest rates -- to 1.5 percent -- sees the central bank nearing the limits of conventional monetary policy after trims totaling 3.5 percentage points since the beginning of October and as Britain faces its bleakest year since the early 1990s recession.

The bank's nine-member monetary policy committee said the world economy "appears to be undergoing an unusually sharp and synchronized downturn."

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.telegraph.co.uk

these 2 articles are interesting and I believe related.

UK now has cut interest rate to lowest level in 315 years!

and

Merril Lynch says richest UK clients are insisting on purchasing gold bars... now why is that?

not sure if should be in breaking news or financial meltdown? mod please help - thanks

finance.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

"Merrill Lynch says rich turning to gold bars for safety

Merrill Lynch has revealed that some of its richest clients are so alarmed by the state of the financial system and signs of political instability around the world that they are now insisting on the purchase of gold bars, shunning derivatives or "paper" proxies.



Rich investors are spurning gold exchange traded funds in favour of krugerrands.
Gary Dugan, the chief investment officer for the US bank, said there has been a remarkable change in sentiment. "People are genuinely worried about what the world is going to look like in 2009. It is amazing how many clients want physical gold, not ETFs," he said, referring to exchange trade funds listed in London, New York, and other bourses.
"They are so worried they want a portable asset in their house. I never thought I would be getting calls from clients saying they want a box of krugerrands," he said...."

www.telegraph.co.uk...