LAWSON SAYS UK INTEREST RATE PROSPECTS UNCHANGED
  U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel
  Lawson said the collapse of British share prices this week held
  no implication so far for domestic interest rates.
      He said in a television interview that "there is nothing in
  the events of the past few days to increase the upward pressure
  on (U.K.) interest rates."
      Sterling has so far stayed solid during the crisis, backed
  by strong economic fundamentals and by 10 pct bank base lending
  rates, analysts said. Lawson's comments followed another
  frantic day in London's financial center, where British shares
  closed 12.2 pct down on the day.
  

