Bank of England lowers base rate

News Article - 22 May 2012
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The Bank of England has opted to cut the base rate of interest by a quarter point to five per cent this week.

At its monthly rate-setting meeting, the Bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) responded to calls for an interest rate reduction in order to boost the UK economy.

The MPC last voted to reduce interest rates in February and the latest cut is the third since December 2007.

A global credit squeeze is negatively affecting the UK economy, causing a housing market slowdown and reducing consumer spending.

The Bank of England is attempting to stave off the threat of recession by cutting the cost of borrowing, as food and energy bills continue to rise.

As the current economic slowdown looks set to continue, businesses are advised to invest in accounting software in order to monitor their finances effectively.

Article keywords: <img src='http://pictures.directnews.co.uk/liveimages/traffic_700_18990677_0_0_7000069_300.jpg' align='right' style='width:150px; margin-left:10px;' />Businesses in the UK are increasingly looking to alternative methods of being environmentally-friendly - which may include an investment in <a href="http://www.access-accounts.com/carbon-emissions.aspx" target="_self">carbon</a><a href="http://www.access-accounts.com/" target="_self">accounting software</a> - rather than cutting down on their corporate travel.<br/><br/>A spokesperson for the Federation of Small Businesses said being able to commute was still an important part of many business growth and productivity.<br/><br/>However, he added that this expansion and networking could also be achieved in a greener and more cost effective way by using a mobile phone or the internet to communicate.<br/><br/>&quot;Small business owners tend to make more of an effort to be environmentally friendly in terms of cutting down on fuel and electricity costs, recycling and investing in insulation and low energy light bulbs, &quot; the representative explained.<br/><br/>According to research from Opus Energy, 37 per cent of the UK's small businesses are planning to cut their budgets for advertising and business travel this year.<br/><br/>In addition, travel and advertising spend were top of the list for the areas where budgets were cut in nearly one in five of such companies.<br/>

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