European Central Bank expected to cut interest rates

[Gerald]

The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates when it announces its latest monthly decision later.It is tipped to cut eurozone rates by another quarter-point to 1%.But its actions, and the words of ECB President Mario Draghi, will be more closely scrutinised than ever as the ECB is also thought to be preparing a bailout for the Italian government.The meeting comes just ahead of a "do-or-die" Brussels summit of EU heads to hammer out a plan to save the euro.The two-day summit ending on Friday is expected to agree tough new rules and automatic fines to ensure that eurozone governments cut their borrowing to below 3% of their GDPs.It will also seek to boost the eurozone governments' own bailout capacity. Leaders still hope to find a way to double or triple the size of the eurozone governments' bailout fund - the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) - from its current 440bn euros (£375bn; $590bn).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16082755

Note: 8 December 2011 Last updated at 10:58 GMT