The Bank of England cut interest rates by 0.5% on Friday to 1.5%.
This is the lowest the base rate has been in the 315 year history of the Bank.
The rate cut, if effective, will possibly make borrowing and remortgages more affordable, but may spell bad news for savers.

Parliament and business heads are putting pressure on ministers to allow nationalised bank Northern Rock to start lending again.
The bank has already paid back £15.4 billion of its £26.9 billion loan.
Liberal Democrat finance spokesman Vince Cable has called for the government to allow the bank to resume lending to aid customers struggling to remortgage in [...]

Coventry Building Society yesterday launched a range of new mortgages.
The range includes a mortgage with a two year fixed rate of 4.99%, an 85% LTV, and free valuation.
The product is also designed to attract remortgage customers, offering a free remortgage transfer service.
Colin Franklin, head of sales at the Coventry, said: “This new range will appeal [...]

In the wake of the credit crunch, the mortgage market has become ever more difficult.
Financial information firm Moneyfacts revealed today that 25% of mortgage deals require a deposit of 40% of the property value.
Last year, only 24 deals in the market required a deposit this large; at the dawn of 2009, that number has reached [...]

Capital Economics predicts that house prices could crash to even lower levels in the new year.
The market could fall by 35% of its 2007 value, the organisation said.
The fall, however, could help as bargain-hunting boosts transactions.
This, in turn, could help increase confidence and the availability of affordable remortgage deals.

New research from financial data provider Defaqto shows that many home owners are paying £2,000 per year extra on their mortgage as lenders have not passed on rate cuts.
The Bank of England made several cuts to the base rate in late 2008, but lenders have refused to pass these cuts on in full.
Northern Rock has [...]

David Black, principal consultant at finance data provider Defaqto, claimed yesterday that standard variable rates have had a greater effect on mortgage customers throughout 2008.
This is because suitable remortgage deals have become more difficult to find due to the global recession.
Mr Black said that SVRs had taken on “a much greater significance than in previous [...]