Bank Interest Rates

[O.S.C.R.U.F.T.]

I was watching BBC breakfast news this morning and heard that it was expected that the banks would lower the interest rates to 0.5%. Does anybody really believe that this will kick start the economy and get the banks to start lending again? In october the interest rates were at 5% and the currently sit at 1%. Is a further reduction of 0.5% really going to have any impact?

Also, they (BBC breakfast) said that the Bank of England were going to print more money and give it to the banks in exchange for 'bad debts'? If Billions from the government wont get them to lend, will more money really have an impact? I don't claim to be an economic genius, but surely printing more money will devalue our currency, and therefore make companies who export suffer even more?

There seem to be startling similarities to the early 90's when Thatcher stepped down, handed control to Major, then the economy when down the pan?

[ShortStraw]

As I understand it they're not really printing money, they would "buy" assets such as bonds to increase the amount of money in the economy.

Still, I've never understood why, at midnight, they don't just print a ****load of banknotes, whack them in the back of a couple of lorries and deliver them to a load of banks. Would anyone notice?