BoE makes emergency rate cut of 50 basis points

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England made an emergency 50 basis point cut in interest rates on Wednesday as part of coordinated global monetary easing to alleviate the economic pain of the stresses in financial markets. The unscheduled move, a day before its regular rate decision, took borrowing costs to 4.5 percent. It was the biggest cut since November 2001 and the first emergency cut since the Sept 11 attacks on the United States.