China's central bank cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves on Saturday, in another attempt to head off a sharper slowdown in the world's second-largest economy. The People's Bank of China, the central bank, said it would cut banks' reserve requirements by 0.50 percentage points effective from May 18, according to a statement posted on its website. The move was widely expected after China reported growth in industrial production slumped to a three-year low of 9.3pc in April, adding pressure on Beijing to ease monetary policy. Sebastien Galy, senior currency strategist at Societe Generale, said: ... (full story)