The Wall Street Journal-20080130-Politics - Economics- In Brief

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Politics & Economics: In Brief

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South Africa Firm

To Boost Electricity

South Africa's state power company promised to increase electricity supplies this week to mines crippled by outages but warned it would soon have to start rationing electricity. Power cuts have halted most mining in the major producer of gold and the world's top platinum miner, driving precious-metals prices to historic highs and shaking confidence in the continent's biggest economy.

-- Reuters

U.K. Group Calls

For Quick Rate Cut

The U.K.'s leading business lobby called for a quick cut in official interest rates, a plea that coincided with news of a sagging retail economy and growing debt-repayment problems in British households. "We would be very pleased to see [a quarter of a percentage point] interest-rate cut in February," said Ian McCafferty, the Confederation of British Industry's chief economic adviser.

India's Central Bank

Holds Rates Steady

India's central bank kept its key interest rates unchanged, with an eye to controlling inflation in one of the world's fastest-growing major economies. The Reserve Bank of India in its quarterly monetary policy review kept its closely watched repo rate -- the rate at which banks borrow money -- at 7.75%. Some have predicted a cut to make up for the impact of a slowing U.S. economy.