Europe’s markets open down despite bank rate cuts

Europe’s major indexes have all opened down despite record rate cuts by the ECB and central banks across Europe.

Frankfurt, London and Paris’s markets all started trading lower with investors nervously awaiting dismal unemployment data from the US.

The move to lower interest rates for the 15 eurozone countries from 3.25 percent to 2.5 percent is an attempt to bolster Europe’s faltering economies.

While big by ECB standards, the cut was tame compared to Sweden which set the ball rolling with a 1.75 percent cut, followed by the UK with a 1 percent reduction by the Bank of England.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged Britain’s high street banks to pass on the historic rate reduction. The lowest in the UK since 1951.

The interest rate cuts, which have made lending the cheapest since the second World War, is also an attempt to get shoppers spending again, ahead of Christmas when businesses make the lion’s share of their sales.

However, many analysts are saying it is too little too late, expecting another cut to come in the New Year.

Copyright © 2009 euronews

tags: Bank of England, ECB, Europe