News
Russia cuts back on Fannie and Freddie paper
The Central Bank of Russia has markedly reduced its holdings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac paper since the start of the year, a senior official confirmed on Monday.
Inflation and fiscal deficit force Pakistan to act
The State Bank of Pakistan has raised its benchmark rate by a full percentage point to 13% in a bid to combat rampant inflation, and a worsening fiscal deficit.
OECD inflation soars to eight-year high
CPI inflation in the 30 countries that comprise the OECD surged to its highest level since March 2000 in the year to June, data published Tuesday revealed.
IMF sticks with $1 trillion write-down estimate
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday it was standing by its estimate that subprime write-downs would end up totalling something close to $1 trillion despite research by the Bank of England suggesting that losses would be a lot lower.
Fed's Mishkin proposes communications changes
Frederic Mishkin, an outgoing governor of the Federal Reserve, believes the central bank needs to make a raft of improvements to its communication policy.
Research suggests Sarkozy's ECB ire unjustified
Though it is unlikely to placate Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president, new research has found the European Central Bank (ECB) is more transparent than the national central banks of the eurozone members were before the introduction of the euro.
Israel continues to hike despite inflation dip
The Bank of Israel will raise its benchmark rate to 4% in August in spite of signs price pressures are easing.
Obama praises Bernanke
Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate for the US presidency, has commended Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, for his response to the recent economic upheaval.
Brazil's Lula defends central bank's independence
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, has underlined his support for the central bank's autonomy after the institution decided last week to make its biggest rate hike in more than five years.
Fed and SEC vie to regulate investment banks
The heads of Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Federal Reserve made the case for their institution to supervise investment banks before US lawmakers.
Discount window borrowing hits fresh high
US commercial banks borrowed an average of $16.8 billion per day from the regional Federal Reserves' discount windows in the week to Wednesday, the highest-ever amount.
Zimbabwe plans reforms to ease consumers' plight
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is to publish plans aimed at alleviating the impact of hyperinflation on consumers, Gideon Gono, the governor of the central bank, said on Thursday.
Japanese inflation spikes to 1.9%
Annual core inflation in Japan soared by almost half a point in the year to June to 1.9%, up from 1.5% the previous month.
ECB's Liebscher: we could hike again
Klaus Liebscher, the governor of the National Bank of Austria and a member of the European Central Bank's (ECB) rate-setting council, said rates could rise again in the coming months.
Ecuador's central bank chief quits
Robert Andrade, the president of the Central Bank of Ecuador, has resigned after less than five months in charge.
New Zealand surprises with rate cut
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Thursday cut the benchmark official cash rate a quarter point to 8%.
Koruna's climb hampering economy: CNB officials
Zdenek Tuma, the governor of the Czech National Bank, and Mojmir Hampl, a member of the central bank's rate-setting board, have warned that the appreciation of the koruna is damaging the country's economy, prompting speculation that the central bank will…
Singapore enhances liquidity management
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is to allow more banks to borrow from its standing facility in a bid to improve liquidity management in the banking system.
Brazil shocks markets with rate spike
The Central Bank of Brazil on Wednesday confounded analysts' expectations, opting to increase its benchmark Selic rate by 75, not 50, basis points.
Two regional Feds pushed for discount rate rise
Directors of two regional Federal Reserves called for a quarter-point increase to the discount rate last month, it emerged Tuesday.
EU imposes sanctions on Zimbabwe
Gideon Gono, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is barred from the European Union (EU).
SWF report from State Street
The latest report from State Street Corporation, a provider of financial services to institutional investors, assesses the impact of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) on the global economy. Currently State Street estimates that SWFs have about $3 trillion in…
Dollar depreciation reflects value: IMF's Lipsky
The dollar is now the closest to its medium-term equilibrium value it has been in a decade and is set to remain the global reserve currency, said John Lipsky, the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
BoE MPC split three ways on July vote
The scale of the Bank of England's monetary-policy dilemma was underlined on Wednesday when the minutes of the July rate-setting meeting revealed a three-way split.