Article: Britain lowers key lending rate

LONDON Hoping to stave off an economic slowdown, the Bank of England cut a key lending rate by one-half of a percentage point Thursday.

Executives welcomed the decision, which marked the first time the independent bank has cut rates by more than a quarter percentage point, but London's stock market fell sharply on fears that the bank believes Britain's economic outlook was gloomier than expected.

"The market presumes that if the bank is prepared to make a cut of 0.5 percent, they may be more concerned about the outlook than previously stated," said Peter Hensman, assistant global strategist at Newton Fund Managers. The blue-chip Financial Times Stock Exchange 100-share index closed down ...

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