Bank Of England Lowers Rates To Lowest Level Since 1694

As the Bank of England works to fight its nation's recession, Britain's equivalent of the Federal Reserve has cut its interest rates by 50 basis points from 2 percent to 1.5 percent.

This is the lowest rate since it the bank was founded under King William III (of Orange) and Queen Mary II in 1694.

The bank was born during a time of parliamentary expansion, royal neutering and broad disarray of the British monetary and credit markets. Many of the monarchy's "It's good to be the king" powers were stripped and the royals were put on an allowance of 600,000 pounds per year. (Adjusted for inflation, that's a gazillion dollars.)

The Bank of England was set up by Parliament to manage the nation's finances.

No word on whether the bank was offering sub-pryme mortgages for ye olde country cottages.

-- Frank Ahrens
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