Pound Falls Most in Six Years Against Euro, Reaches Record Low

March 17 (Bloomberg) -- The pound fell 2 percent against the euro, the most in six years, declining to a record, after the Federal Reserve cut its discount rate and JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought Bear Stearns Cos.

Britain's currency also dropped versus the dollar and fell to a three-year low against the yen after the Fed cut the rate a quarter-percentage point to 3.25 percent in its first weekend emergency action since 1979. The U.S. central bank will also provide JPMorgan as much as $30 billion to fund the purchase of Wall Street's fifth-biggest bank, and lend to the 20 firms that buy Treasury securities directly from it.

The pound dropped to 79.12 pence per euro, the lowest level since the common European currency's 1999 inception, and was at 78.39 pence by 7:22 a.m. in London, from 77.58 pence at the end of last week. It also slipped to $2.0150, from $2.0202 and traded at 195.86 yen, from 200.18 yen.