Bank's Barker sees some optimism

Sat Oct 4, 2008 9:37pm BST

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LONDON (Reuters) - Business sentiment in some parts of Britain is more buoyant than in areas that rely on the financial sector, Bank of England policymaker Kate Barker told a regional newspaper in an article published on Saturday.

"There is cautious optimism out there," Barker told the Warrington Guardian newspaper. "In the north west it is a little bit more cheerful, especially than places where the financial services dominate."

The Bank is widely expected to cut interest rates to 4.75 percent from 5 percent next week as the credit crunch deepens and economists predict Britain is heading for its first recession since the early 1990s.

(Reporting by Matt Falloon; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

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