Interest rates
RBA on why central banks tend towards Fed-set rate
Research by the Reserve Bank of Australia has uncovered why long-term nominal interest rates in a number of inflation-targeting small open economies have tended to be highly correlated with those of the United States.
Former RBA governor calls for inflation re-think
Bernie Fraser, a former governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), says the central bank might have to re-think its use of interest rates to combat inflation if food and fuel prices continue to rise.
Iceland confounds expectations with rate hold
The Central Bank of Iceland surprised markets on Thursday, opting to hold rates, rather than raise them.
Ghana raises rates by 175bp
The Bank of Ghana has hiked its benchmark interest rate to 16% on the back of soaring inflation.
Turkey shifts stance on rates
Turkey has leapfrogged Iceland as the European state with the highest interest rate after the country's central bank backed a 50 basis-point hike on Thursday.
Denmark raises rates
The Nationall Bank of Denmark lifted its key rate by 10 basis points on Friday in a bid to support the krone.
Russia’s monetary dilemma
Time is running out for Russia to deal with its “problem of success”. There are three possible ways forward, writes Bill Allen
Colombia’s communication challenge
Lavan Mahadeva, Diana Mejía Anzola and Jose Darío Uribe Escobar outline the steps the Colombian central bank has taken in communicating with different audiences
Impact of rate setting on banks assessed
A sharp increase in the steepness of the yield curve has the most negative impact on banks' interest income of any rate shock, research published by the Bundesbank finds.
ECB and BoE leave rates unchanged
As was widely expected, both the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England left rates on hold on Thursday.
Fed has little control over rates
The Fed's ability to control short-term interest rates may be greatly exaggerated, research published by the St Louis Fed suggests.
Romania hikes for fourth-straight month
The National Bank of Romania has hiked rates by a quarter-point to a fresh three-year high despite the central bank's governor claiming less than a fortnight ago that rates were high enough.
Interest rate gap too large, says France
Christine Lagarde, the French minister of finance, has issued a guarded warning to the European Central Bank (ECB) not to raise rates.
Australian inflation hits seven-year high
Australian inflation soared to its highest level since June 2001, raising expectations that the country's Reserve Bank will be forced to hike rates again next month.
Canada cuts rates half a point
The Bank of Canada lowered rates to 3% on Tuesday, a move in line with market expectations.
Ukraine raises rate 200 basis points on price fear
The National Bank of Ukraine hiked its discount rate from 10% to 12% on Monday in a bid to temper inflation.
BoE must remain focused on inflation
Monetary policy in the UK ought to remain focused on achieving price stability as defined by the inflation target, Tim Besley, a member of the Bank of England's rate-setting committee, has said.
Mexico holds rates at 7.5%
The Bank of Mexico kept its benchmark one-day interbank rate at 7.5% for the sixth-straight month despite expectations that the US slowdown would impact Mexican growth.
Turkey holds rates, signals tightening
The Central Bank of Turkey held rates for the second-straight month on Thursday but indicated that it was more likely to raise, than reduce, borrowing costs in May.
Buba's Weber paves way for rate hike
Axel Weber, the president of the Bundesbank, has said that the European Central Bank (ECB) must "act with determination" if the recent rise in inflation begins to impact wage settlements.
Fed dissenter warns against "inflation remedy"
Richard Fisher, the president of the Dallas Federal Reserve and a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), has said that he remains strongly reluctant to cut rates.
Chief economist underlines BoE's "tricky" task
The juxtaposition of the recent shocks to both inflation and growth makes the task of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee particularly tricky, Charlie Bean, the Bank's chief economist, noted.
Indian inflation "unacceptably high": Reddy
Y.V. Reddy, the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, has said that the institution is ready to act on inflation, which hit a fresh three-year high at the end of March.
Little demand for BoE cash
Bids for £15 billion-worth ($29.4 billion) of three-month loans from the Bank of England only just exceeded the amount on offer in spite of strong tensions in sterling interbank markets.