European Central Bank cuts rates to new low to aid flagging economy

FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank cut interest rates to a record low on Thursday to breathe life into a deteriorating euro zone economy and back up measures agreed by government leaders last week to tackle the bloc's debt crisis.

The quarter-point cut in the ECB's main refinancing rate to 0.75 percent was in line with market expectations and followed a dire batch of economic data that show even euro zone powerhouse Germany is entering a modest downturn.