European Central Bank Cuts Key Interest Rate by Quarter Point

BREAKING NEWS Thursday, May 2, 2013 8:00 AM EDT

European Central Bank Cuts Key Interest Rate by Quarter Point The European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low Thursday, a mostly symbolic move that could lift morale in the euro zone but is unlikely to jolt the Continent out of recession. The E.C.B., meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia, cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.5 percent from 0.75 percent, which was already a record low. It was the first change in interest rates since July 2012 and the bank’s fourth cut since Mario Draghi took over as president of the E.C.B. in November 2011. READ MORE » http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/business/global/03iht-euro03.html?emc=na