News And Events

LONDON, 5 Feb (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening
47-58 points lower on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers, retreating
after good gains on Wednesday with all eyes fixed on lunchtime interest rate
decisions from both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.

The UK blue chip index closed 64.14 points, or 1.5 percent higher on
Wednesday at 4,228.60, adding to a 2.1 percent gain on Tuesday, with the index
posting its first consecutive gains in a month.

The Bank of England is widely expected to cut interest rates to another
300-year low to deaden the blow from what is already the fastest pace of
economic decline in nearly three decades.

Sixty-one of 68 economists polled by Reuters Jan. 28-29 said the Monetary
Policy Committee would cut rates by a half percentage point to 1.0 percent, two
said it would cut them by double that amount, two by just 25 basis points, and
three said it would leave rates unchanged.

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