Hamish Champ: Rate cuts and Johnny Cash

The Bank of England's decision last week to cut interest rates by a hefty 1.5 per cent took everyone by surprise.

On the morning of the announcement I'd been listening to City experts waxing lyrical on the radio. Few thought members of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee would go beyond a half a percentage point reduction.

Lowering interest rates to their lowest level in more than half a century in one fell swoop is a gamble.

Confidence is all, and while we all want to see rates come down, by slashing them so drastically the Bank is acknowledging that things have seriously gone down the toilet and round the u-bend, and that only by this level of cut, the largest in more than half a century, will haul us all out of the mire, albeit dripping wet and smelling somewhat less fragrant than of late.

The question is, will it? Does such a move create more fear? Or can it inspire confidence? It doesn't feel that way just yet.

Then there're the High Street banks, upon whom the government - as well as the media and trade unions and business leaders, etc - has called to pass the rate cut on to hard-pressed homeowners and businesses.

Senior banking figures have predictably pointed out that for banks to prosper and thus avoid the sort of 'collapse and bail-out' scenario we've seen recently they need to be able to make a profit.

They claim such a goal is endangered by a knee-jerk move to reduce their own interest rates, at least until the current financial crisis malaise situation… thing, improves.

For its part the government wants to make some political capital from its recent nationalisation moves and show us, the taxpayer, it can make the banks bend to its will.

The ploy appears to have worked, for now.

But while the rate cut is obviously welcome, it is only among the first steps on a road to recovery, one which may be rather longer than many already weary travellers would like.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Going off message a bit here, but I'm a member of a 'record club', which is like a book club, only it's 10 of us blokes, sitting round someone's living room once a month listening to two albums, drinking beer and eating junk food, then each giving our 'critique' of each of the records in turn.

One of the two longplayers up for our delectation this month was 'American Recordings IV', the last record Johnny Cash made before he died in 2003.

It's fair to say it's got a few dodgy songs on it. Or rather it's got some classic songs on it but which in truth The Man In Black should've stayed well away from, bless 'im. I blame producer Rick Rubin, myself.

That said, three tunes - his version of 'I Hung My Head, written by Sting; Nine Inch Nails' 'Hurt', and a reworking of his own 'The Man Comes Around' - are absolutely mesmerising. Catch it if you can…