Wednesday, 9 April, 2008
- 9 Apr 08, 05:49 PM
ECONOMY
The men and women of the Monetary Policy Committee are back in the spotlight today as they begin their deliberations on whether to further cut interest rates. Their decision will be announced tomorrow but will it make any difference ? Are UK interest rates an effective instrument in a globalised economy and what can the government actually do to soften the impact of an economic downturn ? Newsnight reconvenes its own MPC tonight.
US ELECTIONS
What is Hillary's plan now? It's certainly not looking good as, with the loss of three key members of her campaign team, those 'misspeaks' and a Pennsylvania poll win looking increasingly uncertain, she holds out for a little help from her super delegate friends. But can they really save her?
JODRELL BANK
The biggest funding crisis for decades has hit the world of astronomy. Although the latest Science budget overall was up, you don't have to have a microscope to it to see there is less money for fundamental physics and astronomy - the exact subjects credited with pulling young people into science. Some fear that the future of one of Britain's greatest assets, Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope, is now at risk. Susan Watts reports on why the government has upset the astonomy community so much and asks if this signals the end of blue skies thinking. Read Susan's feature .
The economy seems to be the biggest story of the day so far - let's talk about what we should focus on. IMF has put the cost of the banking crisis at $1000 billion and downgraded growth predictions for the UK economy, plus continuing pressure on mortgages and housing, and rising inflation. Is it time to hear from our Shadow MPC?