IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Sterling weakens

The pound edged closer to parity with the euro, sinking to a record for the ninth straight day on speculation the Bank of England will follow the Federal Reserve in cutting the cost of borrowing to zero.

The pound slipped as much as 2.4 percent to 95.05 pence per euro, the lowest level since the common currency's debut in 1999. It was at 94.27 pence at 11:43 am in London. Against the dollar, it dropped to $1.5463 from $1.5536 on Wednesday.