Middlesex sanctioned by ECB for financial breaches

State of the Union: Low interest rates and food challenges

The European Central Bank's "historic" interest rate cut and the European Union's food challenges - both in agricultural production and food waste - are this week's top topics.

European Central Bank Cuts Interest Rates

European Central Bank , Cuts Interest Rates. The action was confirmed on June 6 at the central bank's meeting, CNBC reports. . The European Central Bank's (ECB) key rate will go from 4% down to 3.75%. The ECB Governing Council issued a statement. Based on an updated assessment of the inflation outlook, the dynamics of underlying inflation and the strength of monetary policy transmission, , ECB Governing Council, via statement. ... it is now appropriate to moderate the degree of monetary policy restriction after nine months of holding rates steady, ECB Governing Council, via statement. This is the first time that interest rates have been cut since September 2019. . Updated macroeconomic projections indicate that 2024's "annual average headline inflation outlook" has been increased from 2.3% to 2.5%, CNBC reports. For 2025, it was raised from 2% to 2.2%. The projection for 2026 stayed at 1.9%. The ECB's next meeting is in July, where another rate cut is unlikely, experts say. The slight upgrade to the inflation forecast was to be expected, inflation has been printing a little bit hotter than markets were expecting, but in terms of the timing of the next cut I’d still be looking to September, Dean Turner, chief euro zone economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, to CNBC. Canada also cut interest rates on June 5, while Sweden and Switzerland cut rates earlier this year. Canada also cut interest rates on June 5, while Sweden and Switzerland cut rates earlier this year. Canada also cut interest rates on June 5, while Sweden and Switzerland cut rates earlier this year. The U.S. Federal Reserve continues to battle America's rate of inflation.