The Bank is meeting this week to decide on its next step after cutting borrowing costs radically last month from 4.5 per cent to 3 per cent.
Beleaguered manufacturers and retailers last night called on Mervyn King, the governor, to consider a similarly drastic cut to 2 per cent. This would be the lowest rate since 1951.
The call came as figures showed the high street was continuing to suffer, with last week’s cut in VAT appearing to have had little impact on encouraging shoppers to spend.
Despite bringing in the cut early …

Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss enlisted Sarah Palin to rally conservatives while Democratic challenger Jim Martin pushed to activate black voters, as they grappled for advantage in a Tuesday runoff that will shape Democrats’ hold on power in Washington.
Palin, the Alaska governor who was John McCain’s vice presidential running mate, attended private fundraisers Sunday night and was set to speak at rallies across the state Monday. McCain carried Georgia with 52 percent of the vote on Nov. 4.
Martin planned to campaign with prominent Georgia Democrats, including U.S. Rep. John Lewis, as …

President George W. Bush on Sunday dispatched Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to New Delhi in support of India following the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 200 people, including six Americans.
Rice and Bush wanted an opportunity “to express the condolences of the American government directly to the Indian government and the Indian people,” Rice spokesman Sean McCormack said.
Rice was scheduled to leave Sunday night for a meeting in London and then travel to Brussels for a NATO gathering. On Wednesday, following the NATO meeting, she will travel to New Delhi, …

The signal for a week of unrest in Westminster came after the Leader of the House of Commons, Harriet Harman, said that she was “very concerned indeed” at the threat to “fundamental principles” posed by the affair.
She called on Michael Martin, the Speaker, to order a formal inquiry into the decision to allow a police search of Mr Green’s Parliamentary office. Mr Martin was under pressure from MPs on all sides to issue an apology after personally allowing the police access to the Commons.
Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, faced further …

President-elect Barack Obama plans on Monday to announce six experienced hands to fill top administration posts, moving at record speed to name the leadership team that will guide his presidency through a time of war and recession.
His selections include longtime advisers and political foes alike, most notably Democratic primary rival Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state and President Bush’s defense secretary, Robert Gates, staying in his current post. The two were among six who Obama planned to announce at a news conference in Chicago, Democratic officials said.
The officials said …