Three bangs from the Bank with the Budget to come

The Bank of England’s 50bps emergency interest rate cut, from 0.75% back to the record low of 0.25%, and other measures aimed to support loans to businesses announced this morning is the first salvo in a day of coordinated action designed to cushion the blow to the economy from the coronavirus. It won’t prevent the economy stagnating or contracting in Q2 and Q3, but it will help to ensure that the economy can bounce back later this year and in 2021 once the virus has peaked.