The Canadian Central Bank cut rates today by a quarter point to 2.25%. This rate cut today by the Bank of Canada was left than the half point cut expected by some economists.  The reaction to this was also seen by the Canadian Dollar... falling to a three-year low following today's announcement. It will be interesting to see how various Canadian financial institutions react today to the news... in terms of their prime rates and mortgage rates. The Central Bank commented however that it would likely have to lower rates further to combat the effects of the global financial crisis.  "In line with the new outlook, some further monetary stimulus will likely be required to achieve the 2 percent inflation target over the medium term," the central bank said in a statement announcing the lowest ... 10/21/2008

Bankers around the world went into miser mode Tuesday after the defeat of a U.S. bailout plan, pushing an interest rate they charge each other for quick cash to a record level. The key bank-to-bank lending rate, the London interbank offered rate, known as LIBOR, soared to 4.05 per cent from 3.88 per cent for three-month U.S. dollar loans and to 6.88 per cent for overnight dollar loans, the highest level since tracking began in 2001. That is especially worrisome because LIBOR normally is just slightly above the U.S. Federal Reserve's target for the federal funds rate, an interbank lending rate. Now, it is more than four percentage points above the target rate of two per cent. LIBOR, based on a daily survey of banks, is calculated by the British Bankers Association and announced at 11 a.m... 09/30/2008