The Bank of England's historic decision on interest rates today takes us into new territory. With headlines calling for a cut in rates by at least half a point or even the full 1%, it was interesting to read a few pieces in today's Times suggesting that lower interest rates are not the answer. Action on bank lending is. As a colleague points out, the Japanese experience of near-zero interest rates didn't help much; bombarding the economy with cash did.

Be that as it may we now have a half-point cut in Bank Rate to 1.5%

Will it work? Take part in our new quick online poll and tell us when you think the UK economy will hit rock-bottom (how long it stays at rock-bottom is another question altogether...).