Financial crisis has six months or more to go

Interest rates have fallen around the world to almost zero, leaving central banks little room to manoeuvre as they try to bolster economies.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has cut rates to near-zero, the Bank of Japan has set rates at just 0.1 percent, the European Central Bank has rates at two percent while the Bank of England has slashed rates to just one percent, a level not seen in its 315-year history.