By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Euro plunges and political leaders protest as central bank tightens monetary policy The European Central Bank has raised interest rates a quarter point to 4.25pc to curb record inflation, becoming the first big central bank to tighten monetary policy since the onset of the credit crisis. Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB's president, doused expectations for a series of rate rises into the autumn, setting off frantic moves by traders to unwind bets on the money markets. The euro plummeted by more than two cents to $1.5690 against the dollar, while global bourses breathed a sigh of relief. Markets had been braced for far worse. Mr Trichet stressed that the ECB is now in neutral mode with "no bias", suggesting that governors from the southern states have at last begun to resist the German drive for a...
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