Global rate cut

Oct 8 - The Federal Reserve leads a global round of emergency interest rate cuts in an effort to contain the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.

The Fed said it was cutting its key federal funds rate by 50 basis points to 1.5 percent.

China, the European Central Bank (ECB) and central banks in Britain, Canada, Sweden and Switzerland also cut rates in the coordinated response which analysts had been demanding.

In the UK the Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the move to parliamentary colleagues, along with details of a 88 billion dollar rescue package for Britain's banking system.

In this video clip, Brown insists it was the correct move for the UK and its finance industry.