News
Crisis "nothing like" Great Depression: Bernanke
Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve and a scholar on the Great Depression, has rebuked suggestions that the current financial climate is similar to that of the 1930s.
Iceland raises rates again
The Central Bank of Iceland hiked rates by half a point on Thursday. The move follows an emergency 125 basis point rise a fortnight ago.
Prague backs CNB on move to halt koruna's rise
The Czech government will divert its foreign exchange income from currency markets, on the advice of the country's central bank, which is keen to temper the appreciation of the koruna.
Peru unexpectedly raises rates
The Central Bank of Peru surprised markets on Thursday by backing a 25 basis-point hike and raising the reserve requirement for foreign and domestic currency holdings.
RBI calls for better banking
Shyamala Gopinath, a deputy governor at the Reserve Bank of India, called on banks to improve their standards of customer service.
Crisis worst shock since Great Depression: IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the US subprime fallout has precipitated the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression and that there is a 25% chance that it will cause a full-blown global recession.
Indonesian governor detained
Burhanuddin Abdullah, the governor of Bank Indonesia, has been detained at police headquarters by the country's anti-corruption agency, Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK), a day after parliament approved economics minister Boediono as the next central…
Old Lady lowers rates to 5%
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cut rates by a quarter point to 5% on Thursday.
Trichet indicates rates to remain at 4%
Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), signalled that the Governing Council will leave rates unchanged for the foreseeable future despite mounting evidence that the credit crunch could severely impact the real economy.
British banks want to borrow more
UK banks have asked for a sharp increase in their borrowing facilities at the Bank of England, the Financial Times has reported.
IMF puts subprime losses at $945 billion
Estimates of the size of losses on subprime mortgages and related forms of lending just get uglier and uglier. The latest estimate, presented by the International Monetary Fund in its Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), puts losses at a staggering …
Stalemate ends as Shirakawa is approved
Masaaki Shirakawa is the new governor of the Bank of Japan after the opposition Democratic Party of Japan accepted his nomination on Wednesday, ending a political standoff that has embarrassed both the central bank and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Fed minutes point to moderate easing
The latest Federal Reserve minutes suggest that the period of rapid monetary policy easing that started in late January may be over and could be replaced by a return to a more conventional, gradualist approach.
UK opposition calls for new central bank powers
Giving central banks the power to vary the capital banks hold over the economic cycle could help prevent asset price collapses, argued George Osborne, the Conservative shadow chancellor.
Thailand leaves rates on hold
The Bank of Thailand has kept rates at 3.25% for the sixth straight vote.
Politicians ask Fed to clarify Bear deal
A high-ranking American politician has issued a strongly worded request for more details about the arrangement the Federal Reserve struck with BlackRock, an asset management firm, to manage a $29 billion portfolio of assets from Bear Stearns following…
ADIA hires ex-banker as communications chief
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has hired former Morgan Stanley corporate communications executive Euart Glendinning as its first global head of corporate affairs.
Indonesia's Boediono gets the nod
Boediono, Indonesia's economics minister, will become governor of the country's central bank in May after a parliamentary committee approved his appointment.
Tokyo nominates Shirakawa for governor
The leadership crisis at the Bank of Japan looks resolved after the government nominated Masaaki Shirakawa, the current acting governor, for the role on Monday night.
New Indonesian governor wants tighter regulation
Boediono, the prospective head the Bank of Indonesia, called on 7 April for tighter regulation of the central bank after a series of corruption scandals.
IMF chief calls for public intervention in credit
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said on 6 April that he thinks the need for "public intervention" in the credit crisis is becoming more evident.
UK chancellor wants action on market crisis
Alistair Darling, the UK chancellor, has called on his G7 counterparts to formulate a "clear and detailed plan of action" to combat the turmoil in world markets.
Greenspan hits back
Alan Greenspan, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, has said that the blame for the subprime crisis lies with the investment community rather than himself, as has often been argued.
Crisis not over yet, says Netherlands' Wellink
Nout Wellink, the president of the Netherlands Central Bank, said the financial crisis is far from over, the US looks almost certain to go into recession and the rest of the world will suffer the consequences.