摘要：NEvER—in more than three hundred years of
combating the effects of investment bubbles,
global depressions, and world wars—has the ven-
erable Bank of England (BoE) lent money this
cheaply. The current global recession has accomplished what
no previous business cycle since the start of the Industrial
Revolution ever achieved: it has led the U.K. central bank to
lower its base rate to virtually zero. What’s more, the Old Lady
of Threadneedle Street (the BoE’s affectionate sobriquet) has
decided to move beyond interest rate cuts, adopting uncon-
ventional policies to try to restart the U.K. economy
