This week the Bank of England’s rate setting committee lowered interest rates by 0.5% in a move which takes the base rate to a record low of 1%.

via BBC NEWS | Programmes | Moneybox | Interest rates drop again.

The Bank of England’s decision to cut interest rates to a historic low of 1% gets a mixed reception in the papers.

via BBC NEWS | UK | Papers debate interest rate cut.

From guest contributor: Josh Fuhrer – chasingdirt.com

Is it Time to Buy Bank of America and CitiBank Stock?

I wrote recently about why buying up cheap Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock is a good idea right now for long-view investors. Briefly, the US Treasury Dept partially nationalized these firms, essentially guaranteeing that they won’t be allowed to fail.

Eventually the federal government will re-privatize these companies, and when they do, it will signal a bellwether in the lending landscape that will mark the official ratification of “the turnaround.” It won’t happen for awhile yet, but when it does, investor confidence will be higher than it is today, and private equity will again flow into these entities, sending their stock prices up significantly. You can read the entire theory here.

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