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UK Interest Rates Held Steady as Bank of England Signals Future Cuts; Bitcoin Plummets, Trump Makes Multiple Announcements
LONDON/WASHINGTON D.C. - The Bank of England held UK interest rates at 3.75% after a close vote, while signaling potential future cuts later this year, according to BBC Business. Simultaneously, Bitcoin experienced a sharp decline, and former US President Donald Trump made several significant announcements, including the launch of a new website aimed at lowering prescription drug costs and his response to a Russian proposal on nuclear weapons.
The Bank of England's decision to hold rates came after a split vote within its decision-making committee, with five members in favor and four against. Governor Andrew Bailey told the BBC that further reductions in rates were likely later in the year. The bank also lowered its economic growth predictions for the current year and raised its unemployment forecast, factors that make further rate cuts more probable.
In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin's value plummeted, losing nearly 14 percent on Friday morning, trading around $62,900 as of 01:00 GMT, according to Al Jazeera. This decline followed a week of heavy losses for the digital currency.
Meanwhile, in the United States, former President Trump launched a new website called TrumpRx, designed to allow consumers to purchase discounted prescription drugs directly from pharmaceutical companies, as reported by Al Jazeera. Trump announced the website's launch at an event at the White House on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, Trump rejected an offer from Russian President Vladimir Putin to extend the recently expired limits on the deployment of strategic nuclear weapons, according to Al Jazeera. Trump stated he wanted negotiators from both countries to develop a new agreement, calling the previous treaty poorly negotiated.
In a separate development, Trump appeared to endorse the deal struck by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to transfer the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, Al Jazeera reported. This shift in stance came weeks after Trump had criticized the UK's decision to cede sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago, which includes a joint US-UK military base on the island of Diego Garcia, calling it an "act of great stupidity."
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