Brazil lowers lending rate to increase growth

Brazil lowers lending rate to increase growth Brazil's central bank this week cuts its benchmark lending rate a half a percentage point in an effort to increase growth, according to a report in Bloomberg.com.
   The bank cut the interbank rate to 13.75 percent, marking the tenth straight reduction by the central bank, which has cut interest rates by 6 percentage points since September 2005.
   'After this considerable cut, which was widely expected, the consensus is that the central bank will reduce the pace of rate cuts in its next few meetings and then possibly take a break to assess the effects of its moves this year,' Sandra Utsumi, chief economist with BES Investimentos, said in a phone interview with Bloomberg News.