Turkey`s central bank cut its key overnight borrowing and lending rates on Wednesday in expectation of a faster decline in inflation than previously thought.

The bank`s monetary policy board said in a statement that it had trimmed the borrowing rate by 50 basis points to 16.25 percent and the lending rate by 100 basis points to 18.75 percent.

The US economy could grow as much as 1.1 percent in 2009 or contract by 0.2 percent, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday, slashing its previous forecast.

In its latest forecasts published in July, the Fed predicted gross domestic product (GDP) growth in a range of 2.0-2.8 percent.

The Bank of England mulled slashing British interest rates even more sharply in November, before it cut borrowing costs by 150 basis points to a 53-year low, minutes from the meeting showed Wednesday.

The Bank of England mulled slashing British interest rates even more sharply in November, before it cut borrowing costs by 150 basis points to a 53-year low, minutes from the meeting showed Wednesday.

The European Central Bank published on Tuesday details of its latest operations to boost interbank lending on eurozone money markets.

The central bank has been providing huge amounts of euros, dollars and Swiss francs to eurozone banks to get them lending to each other again after uncertain financial conditions caused the crucial markets to freeze up.

The European Central Bank published on Tuesday details of its latest operations to boost interbank lending on eurozone money markets.

The central bank has been providing huge amounts of euros, dollars and Swiss francs to eurozone banks to get them lending to each other again after uncertain financial conditions caused the crucial markets to freeze up.

Bank of England policymakers voted 9-0 to slash British interest rates by a third to 3.00 percent earlier this month, minutes of their meeting revealed on Wednesday.

The BoE had on November 6 slashed its key lending rate from 4.5 percent to the lowest level in more than half a century, a sign according to economists of a deep recession ahead for Britain.

Bank of England policymakers voted 9-0 to slash British interest rates by a third to 3.00 percent earlier this month, minutes of their meeting revealed on Wednesday.

The BoE had on November 6 slashed its key lending rate from 4.5 percent to the lowest level in more than half a century, a sign according to economists of a deep recession ahead for Britain.

OTTAWA, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - The Bank of Canada will likely keep its key interest rate at 4.50 percent to the end of 2009, it said Thursday, fearing a 'more pronounced and protracted slowdown' in US domestic demand, and a slowing of the global economy.

In its Monetary Policy Report, the central bank projected 1.9 percent growth in US gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007, and 2.1 percent in 2008, before 'rebounding' in 2009, and said economic growth worldwide would 'ease modestly' in 2008 and 2009.

WASHINGTON, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - The US economy is managing to hold onto its expansion even as the housing sector is pummeled and consumers show signs of fatigue, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book report Wednesday.

The report, to be used by the central bank at its October 30-31 monetary policy meeting, said manufacturing is also seeing sluggish growth and that the financial sector was feeling pinched by loan delinquencies and tighter credit.