Rate Cut Thursday Is Finally Here The market was already thirsting for a hefty rate cut from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, but when Sweden slashed its borrowing rate to 2 percent this morning, all bets were off. The Bank of England cut its lending rate a dramatic 100 basis points, bringing the Bank to its lowest lending rate in its 300-year history. As for the ECB, even a cut of 75 bp would be the biggest one-time drop in the body's 10-year history -- but some are now looking for the lending rate to shed as much as 100 bp today. Management Wins Bid For Neuberger It's a happy outcome for employees of the Lehman Brothers investment management business, as well as for its clients: Lehman Brothers Holdings has agreed to sell Neuberger Berman to its managers. The deal beats out a bid from private equity firms Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman, which many considered to be too low. It's Her Or Me, Says Iberia's Conte Fernando Conte is fed up – after months of flirtation, Iberia finds out at the eleventh hour that BA has been chatting up Qantas on the sly. Now, Conte is telling Willie Walsh he can't have his cake and eat it too. Credit Suisse Cuts 5,300 Credit Suisse has finally bitten the bullet on lay-offs, and in a big way. The firm will dispose of 5,300 workers, or 11 percent of its employees, many of whom will come from the investment banking division. Charitably, upper-level management has also announced that it will forego bonuses as a measure of solidarity. Russian Millionaire Trades Stocks For Livestock It's a move that would do Tolstoy proud: while his Russian oligarch friends are losing billions, German Sterligov chose to leave financial markets behind, living off the land in farm in the country north of Moscow. Terminal: Call Me Qatar An emerging sheikdom keeps up with its neighbors.