Three Asian central banks slash interest rates
SEOUL (AP): South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong all slashed interest rates Thursday, joining in a chorus of cuts by central banks around the world aimed at fighting the global financial crisis.
The moves follow Wednesday's coordinated rate reductions led by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. China's central bank also cut rates Wednesday, thought did not say if it was part of the joint action.
Investors generally cheered the moves, with benchmark indices in Hong Kong and South Korea edging higher after the previous day's plunge. Markets in Taiwan and Japan rose initially but then fell back into negative territory.
Citing dangers related to the financial crisis that has spread from the U.S. to Europe and beyond, the Bank of Korea cut its key seven-day repurchase rate by a quarter percentage point to 5 percent.