News
UK action must be backed up abroad: BoE's Tucker
The British Treasury's measures, announced Monday, to kickstart a financial recovery stand a better chance of success if they are mirrored by governments across the globe, a senior Bank of England official testified on Wednesday.
Tarp needs "serious reform": Geithner
The Troubled Asset Relief Plan (Tarp) needs a fundamental overhaul, Tim Geithner, the US treasury-secretary designate who as head of the New York Fed was closely involved with the original bailout package, told lawmakers on Wednesday.
Business can bypass banks with bond sales: King
The Bank of England's round of corporate bond purchases, set to begin within weeks, could revive ailing capital markets by reducing businesses reliance on bank lending, Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, said on Tuesday evening.
Danes less keen on euro
The popularity of the euro among Danes has waned since November 2008, a poll commissioned by one of the country's leading banks has found.
Malaysia slashes rates as exports flag
Bank Negara Malaysia surprised markets on Wednesday, slashing its key rate by 75 basis points to 2.5%.
HKMA and China agree currency swap
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the People's Bank of China have signed a currency swap arrangement worth up to $29.2 billion.
France to ECB: lead charge for derivatives market
Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister, has called on the European Central Bank to spur efforts to set up a eurozone-wide financial infrastructure for derivatives, further scuppering US efforts to create a global market for the instruments.
UK inflation still in letter-writing territory
British CPI inflation in the year to December was 3.1%, down a full percentage point from the November figure but still significantly above the Bank of England's 2% target.
SWF nations poor on governance: SF Fed's Glick
A considerable gulf exists between the governance standards of the economies in which sovereign wealth funds have been established and the standards of the industrial economies in which they are seeking to invest, a paper co-authored by Reuven Glick, the…
Canada sees rates hit all-time low
The Bank of Canada cut its key rate to 1%, the lowest level in the central bank's 75-year history, on Tuesday and said that headline inflation would fall below zero later this year. However, the move was not enough to satisfy some in the markets who were…
Bank granted new powers to aid markets
The Bank of England has been given new powers, including the potential to undertake quantitative easing, as part of renewed efforts to safeguard the financial system, announced by the British Treasury on Monday.
IMF lends to El Salvador, Serbia
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday said it would loan more than $1 billion to Serbia and El Salvador to ward off the threat of financial instability.
Saudi, UAE cut by 50 basis points
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) both cut their benchmark rates by half a point on Monday on signs that growth in the two economies, both of which rely heavily on oil exports, will slow in…
Tuvalu applies for IMF membership
Tuvalu is looking to become the 186th member country of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Hungary cuts on fears of "sharp downturn"
The National Bank of Hungary on Monday lowered rates for the third time since the start of December on signs of a more severe-than-expected economic slowdown.
Zim to set denomination record for issued note
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is to introduce the highest-ever denomination issued note - worth Z$100 trillion.
Dublin nationalises third-largest lender
The Irish authorities on Thursday took control of Anglo Irish, the country's third-largest lender, on fears that negative market sentiment could spark a run on the bank.
BoA rescued as Congress grants $350bn for Tarp
Washington has granted Bank of America, the United States's third-largest lender, up to $138 billion in federal aid on signs that a batch of assets taken onto the lender's balance sheet following its buyout of failed investment bank Merrill Lynch could…
Basel Committee bids to strengthen Basel II
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision on Friday issued a string of draft measures aimed at enhancing the Basel II capital framework in light of the credit crunch.
Turkey slashes to record low as growth slumps
The Central Bank of Turkey on Thursday chopped two percentage points off its benchmark rates, taking the measures to their lowest-ever levels.
ECB cuts, Trichet signals more could come
The European Central Bank (ECB) has chopped a half point off its key rate and indicated rates could reach a fresh low in the months to come. The news followed confirmation that eurozone inflation sank below the central bank's target in December.
G30 proposes reforms to punish biggest banks
The biggest financial institutions must be subjected to more stringent regulation and central banks must take a greater role in safeguarding stability, the Group of Thirty, an influential consultative group on economics, has warned.
We should have warned Europe more: IMF's Belka
The head of the International Monetary Fund's European department has acknowledged the Fund failed to adequately warn European states of the risks from the fallout of the financial crisis.
Rouble at fresh low as devaluation continues apace
The rouble slumped to a record low against the greenback on Thursday as the country's central bank stepped up its devaluation of the currency.