Most MPC members also expected to cut the main rate again this year to a rate "close to, but a little above zero" if the economy performed as poorly as forecast. 

"Following the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union, the exchange rate has fallen and the outlook for growth in the short to medium term has weakened markedly," the central bank said in its quarterly Inflation Report. 

However, policymakers were not completely united on how to respond. Three policymakers - Kristin Forbes, Ian McCafferty and Martin Weale - opposed raising the target for quantitative easing government bond purchases to £435bn from the £375bn total reached in late 2012.

Politico's chief financial correspondent tweets:

The Bank of England has cut interest rates for the first time since 2009 and said it would buy £60bn of government debt to ease the blow from the UK's Brexit vote. 

The Bank said it expected the economy to stagnate for the rest of 2016 and suffer weak growth throughout next year, and lowered its main lending rate to a record-low 0.25 percent from 0.5 percent, in line with market expectations. 

It also launched two new schemes - one to buy £10bn of high-grade corporate bonds and another - potentially worth up to £100bn - to ensure banks keep lending even after the cut in interest rates. 

BBC Newsnight business editor tweets:

Image source, Bank of England

Bank of England has cut the UK's key interest rate to an historic low of 0.25%.

The rate has been at 0.5% since March 2009 - the height of the financial crisis.

Image source, Reuters

Xavier Rolet, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, has said the new company formed by an upcoming merger with Deutsche Börse will be based in London.

There had been speculation as to whether the firm would be domiciled in mainland Europe following the result of the EU referendum vote.

But The Guardian reports that Mr Rolet, external is hoping the UK will negotiate entry into the single market, after Brexit, warning that if this does not happen, the cost would be "very high not just for the UK but also for the rest of the EU". 

"We’d be going to fragmentation, small liquidity pools, added cost.”

Image source, Siemens

German engineering company Siemens has lifted its annual earnings forecast after strong demand for renewables increased orders.

Despite warning of increasing geopolitical risks, the group said it expected profits per share between €6.50 and €6.70 ($7.24-7.46), compared with the €6 to €6.40 it had previously predicted for the financial year ending September.

Boss Joe Kaeser said the firm was making good progress in "an increasingly difficult market environment".

FT reporter tweets our worst fear:

Image source, Jet2

Those traveling before 8am on a Jet2.com flight will have to fly dry, as the airline has taken the "bold step" of banning alcohol sales on morning flights.

Managing director Phil Ward said the airline is the the first in Europe to introduce the ban and called on airport shops and bars to also "trade responsibly". 

Since Jet2 launched its scheme to tackle anti-social behaviour on flights in 2015, more than 500 passengers have been refused travel and another 50 have been banned.

Image source, Reuters

You think UK retailers have it tough? Spare a thought for their Italian counterparts. Markit's eurozone retail PMI figures, external for July out today show that Italy came in at a dismal 40.3. 

France and Germany were both above 50 - the figure that separates expansion from contraction - but Italy kept the eurozone as a whole at 48.9 for July. That was a slight improvement on June's performance of 48.5, at least.

Phil Smith, economist at Markit said: "Survey evidence points to the tentative renaissance in the French retail sector being supported by the widespread use of promotional offers, which was reflected in a notable deterioration in gross margins. Germany remains the brightest light, with sales rising for the sixth month running."

Image source, Getty Images

The global economic outlook has become more uncertain after the UK's vote to leave the European Union, the European Central Bank said, reaffirming its readiness to act if needed to support eurozone inflation.

"Financial market volatility following the referendum in the United Kingdom on EU membership has been short-lived," the ECB said in its regular economic bulletin. "However, uncertainty about the global outlook has increased, while incoming data for the second quarter point to subdued global activity and trade." 

Echoing president Mario Draghi's July policy statement, the ECB said it was awaiting more information, including new staff projections to be published in September, before making any decision on new policy moves.

Former business producer for BBC Breakfast, Edwin Mitson, laments:

Image source, Getty Images

Golf really is going out of fashion fast. Not only has Nike decided to stop selling golf clubs, balls and bags after years of falling sales, but lest we forget Adidas is also trying to flog its golf business. That's despite reporting a 7% rise in golf revenues - driven by double-digit growth at the TaylorMade golf brand.

Adidas, which began a review of its struggling golf business a year ago, said in May it would sell TaylorMade and Adams, which sell golf clubs and other equipment, as well as the Ashworth golf shoes and clothing brand.   

Equinet Bank analyst Mark Josefson said the Nike move might make it harder for Adidas to sell TaylorMade. 

After peaking around 2000, when Nike-sponsored Tiger Woods was in his prime, the number of people playing golf in the US has fallen sharply. 

Adidas bought TaylorMade in 1997, developing it into the world's biggest supplier of golf drivers. It bought smaller Ashworth in 2008 and Adams four years later. Sales for its golf unit were down in 2015 by a third from their 2012 peak.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Business editor Simon Jack tweets:

Hikma Pharmaceuticals is a FTSE 100 stock - not quite a household company but the clue is in the name. Its shares have plunged close to 13% today following an unscheduled profit warning, external last night after the market closed.

It said its generics division would be between $30m and $40m compared with $46m last year.

Hikma shares are set for their worst day since 2008.

Randgold Resources, external is also having a bad day, down more than 11%, after reporting flat second-quarter profit as higher gold prices were offset by lower production and increased costs.

Chief executive Mark Bristow said: "Considering the internal and external challenges ahead, our teams will have to test and, if necessary, re-invent the way they operate on a continuous basis."

BBC Breakfast

The last word from Ben Thompson, who was at a tape factory in Leicester ahead of the interest rate decision at midday from the Bank of England.

Image source, Getty Images

UK new car registrations rose 0.1% in July, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Almost 1.6 million new cars have been registered so far this year - 2.8% higher than for the same period in 2015 following a strong first quarter.

Today editor Jamie Angus tweets: