Interest rates at lowest for 37 years

Interest rates fell to their lowest level for 37 years today but still failed to stop another swathe of job losses across Ireland and Britain.

The Bank of England responded to the twin threat to industry from the economic slowdown and the US terrorist crisis by reducing its base rate for a sixth time this year - down a quarter of a point to 4.5%.

Industry leaders welcomed the move but some British union leaders accused the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of not going far enough.

More than a thousand UK jobs were axed today in manufacturing and service sectors and there are fears that thousands more will be lost in the coming weeks.

Roger Lyons, general secretary of the British Manufacturing Science and Finance Union, said: "The quarter-point cut in interest rates has done nothing to stem the tide of job losses.

"The cut represents not caution but cowardice in the face of the current crisis."

The latest cut means homeowners are now enjoying the cheapest mortgage rates for more than 45 years.

Many lenders passed on the latest reduction, meaning the cost of borrowing has fallen £90 a month on a £60,000 mortgage since the start of the year.

British mortgage lenders Nationwide, Halifax, Abbey National and HSBC were among those to cut their rates.

Explaining its decision, the MPC said it had been concerned about the blow to confidence caused by the recent attacks.

However, it believed the impact of the crisis was likely to be less severe than in the US, where rates were cut by another half-point to 2.5% on Tuesday.