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Bank of England may cut interest rates for first time in two years
London: The Bank of England may reduce its benchmark interest rate for the first time in more than two years in order to spur growth in Europe's second-largest economy, a survey of economists has said. The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee will probably lower the repurchase rate by a quarter point to 4.5 percent at its two- day meeting that starts Aug. 3, all but five of 40 economists in a July 29 survey said.

The bank last pared the rate in July 2003 and has set it at 4.75 percent, near a four-year high, for the past 12 months. The decision is due at midday on Aug. 4.

The U.K. economy grew at the slowest annual pace in more than 12 years in the second quarter, prompting business groups led by the Confederation of British Industry to call for cheaper borrowing costs.

U.K. borrowing costs are the highest among the Group of Seven richest nations after the Bank of England raised the repurchase rate five times between November 2003 and August 2004.

Costlier credit, oil prices near $60 a barrel, stagnant house prices, record debt and rising unemployment are sapping consumer spending which drove 52 straight quarters of growth.

Industry slipped into recession in the three months through June after production fell for a second quarter amid sluggish sales to the euro region, where until the end of last year growth has lagged the U.K. pace in every quarter since 2000.
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Japan imposes trade sanctions on US
Tokyo: Japan has decided to impose its first-ever retaliatory sanctions against the United States on fifteen goods, including steel, in response to a controversial US anti-dumping law.

"Our country decided today to launch a countermeasure from 1 September over the Byrd Amendment of the United States," Trade Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said in a statement on Monday.

Japan will slap 15% retaliatory levies on US steel, Trade Ministry official Etsuo Sato said.

The percentage is in line with moves by Canada and the European Union, which have taken retaliatory actions against US products since 1 May over US legislation known as the Byrd Amendment, an anti-dumping law ruled illegal by the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Tokyo made the decision after the Council on Customs, Tariff, Foreign Exchange and Other Transactions gave its approval on Monday.

The tariffs will amount to 5.7 billion yen ($51 million), said Sato.
The tariffs are the latest retaliation for the Byrd legislation, which redistributes levies on dumping - selling items abroad at less than the price in the domestic market - to US companies.

Japan and other countries including the European Union took the case to the WTO, which last year authorised sanctions amounting to 72% of the sums reaped by the US law.
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