Negative rates warning

NEGATIVE interest rates could cripple savers and hit spending as they propel the global economy into unknown territory, an investor has warned.

Introduced by central banks to make financiers lend, negative rates are supposed to boost inflation and get money moving.

The European Central Bank is a key backer of the practice. It has cut rates to - 0.4pc – meaning it charges banks to hold their money.

But Larry Fink, chief executive of Blackrock, the world’s biggest investment firm, has said the move is a giant experiment which could put the recovery at risk.

He believes it is ‘severely punishing the world’s savers’ by giving them appalling rates of return.