The European Central Bank cut interest rates further below zero and said it™ll resume bond purchases as President Mario Draghi overcame critics of his stimulus policies to make a final run at reflating the euro-area economy. The Governing Council reduced the deposit rate to minus 0.5% from minus 0.4%, and will buy debt at 20 billion euros ($22 billion) a month starting Nov. 1. Banks will get exemptions from the negative rate for some of their deposits after an outcry from lenders about the squeeze on profitability. Draghi will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. in...
The European Central Bank changed tack on its tightening plan on Thursday, pushing out the timing of its first post-crisis rate hike until 2020 at the earliest and offering banks a new round of cheap loans to help revive the euro zone economy. The bolder-than-expected move came as the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world are also holding back on rate hikes. It underlined how a global trade war, Brexit uncertainty and simmering debt concerns in Italy are taking their toll on economic growth across Europe. Whereas the bank had previously said rates would remain at...
Australias central bank held its nerve in the face of a credit squeeze and tumbling property prices, keeping interest rates unchanged as it waits to see how consumers respond. Governor Philip Lowe and his board kept the cash rate at 1.5 percent Tuesday -- as expected by money markets and economists -- saying in a statement: œthe main domestic uncertainty continues to be the strength of household consumption in the context of weak growth in household income and falling housing prices in some cities. The Australian dollar was little changed, buying 70.84 U.S....
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday said the economy has been sending "conflicting signals" that justify a "patient approach" on future changes to interest rates. œWhile we view current economic conditions as healthy and the economic outlook as favorable, over the past few months we have seen some crosscurrents and conflicting signals, Powell said in testimony prepared for delivery to the Senate Banking Committee. The Fed chairman did not give a ringing endorsement of the economic outlook, saying only that in January œmy colleagues and I generally expected the...
The BoE Governor Mark Carney, testifying before parliament's Treasury Committee this Tuesday, said that we aren't seeing any liquidity stress in the market but stand ready to provide liquidity in all major currencies. Adding to this, the BoE MPC member Gertjan Vlieghe said that the direction of rate moves after non-deal Brexit will be a trade-off between supporting the economy and stopping temporary inflation overshoot. After a no-deal Brexit, likely to keep policy on hold or ease, Vlieghe added further. Meanwhile, the GBP/USD pair continued scaling higher and might now eye a...
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Monday that the possibility of Britain leaving the European Union next month without a transition deal ranked as the riskiest Brexit scenario for the stability of the financial services industry. œThe biggest issue from a financial stability perspective, from a market integrity perspective, from a continuity perspective, is a no-deal scenario by the end of March, Carney said at a news conference. Brexit is scheduled to take place on March 29 and lawmakers in London have yet to approve a deal that would smooth Britain's departure from the...
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Monday that the possibility of Britain leaving the European Union next month without a transition deal ranked as the riskiest Brexit scenario for the...
Bank of Japan maintains 10-year JGB yield target at about zero percent after ending a two-day meeting on Tuesday.
Keeps policy balance rate at -0.1%.
Central bank leaves forward guidance and asset...