Asian central banks cut rates

Fear of the global financial crisis has spread through Asia prompting several central banks to cut rates following the move from the Federal Reserve and other international central banks earlier this week.

South Korea and Taiwan lowered their cash rates by 0.25 per cent while Hong Kong cut its base rate to 2.0 per cent.

Meanwhile leaders from across the world have scheduled an emergency meeting in Washington this weekend to discuss collaborative efforts to restore stability in global financial markets.

The move comes as the United States US$700 billion bail-out package fails to quell investors’ fears that the economy is spinning out of control.

The Dow Jones yesterday suffered one of its biggest one day slumps, closing below 9000 points for the first time in five years.