CENTRAL BANKS CO-ORDINATE RATE CUTS

Fed, major central banks slash rates By William L. Watts, MarketWatch Last update: 7:48 a.m. EDT Oct. 8, 2008 LONDON (MarketWatch) - The world's major central banks moved in concert Wednesday to slash key interest rates as policy makers struggle to head off global financial turmoil that has threatened to throttle world economic growth. In coordinated announcements, the Fed said it had cut its key lending rate by a half point to 1.5%. The Frankfurt-based European Central Bank trimmed its key refi rate to 3.75% from 4.25%, while the Bank of England cut its key rate to 4.5% from 5%. The Bank of Japan sat out the move, but issued a statement backing the action