Interest rates
Brazil president intervenes in monetary policy
Lula says further rate cuts “desirable”
Denmark cuts to halt krone rise
National Bank of Denmark lowers lending rate by a tenth of a percentage point. Iceland holds to promote appreciation
Czechs cut rates to record low
Czech National Bank chops quarter point off official borrowing costs
Goodhart calls for negative deposit rate
Former member of Monetary Policy Committee Charles Goodhart wants Bank of England to follow Riksbank’s lead in cutting deposit rate below zero
Indonesia cuts again
Bank Indonesia cuts for ninth month in a row but bullish on outlook for second half of the year
Chile to lend at record-low interest rates until 2010
Chilean banks to be able to borrow at 0.5% until end of year
Riksbank moves into negative rate territory
Sweden’s central bank, the world’s oldest, will on Wednesday become the first since the crisis began to penalise banks for holding deposits
Chile to keep rates at record low until mid 2010
The Central Bank of Chile has indicated that, contrary to market expectations, it is likely to keep rates at a record low of 0.75% until at least the middle of next year.
Sri Lanka softens forex restrictions
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka on Tuesday said it would relax foreign-exchange restrictions on banks after pressure on the rupee abated.
US output gap may be smaller than thought
That core inflation has fallen relatively little indicates that there is less slack in the American economy, and thus a smaller output gap, than standard estimates predict, research published by the San Francisco Federal Reserve posits.
Inflation outlook leaves scope for RBA cuts
Members of the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate-setting board saw no pressing case for further monetary stimulus but concurred that the inflation outlook left scope for cuts if required, the minutes of this month's policy meeting show
Serbia's Jelasic: microfinance struggling
The microfinance sector has been hit hard by the crisis, said Radovan Jelasic, the governor of the National Bank of Serbia.
Iceland dismisses IMF advice and cuts
The Central Bank of Iceland's rate-setting board cut its key rate by a percentage point on Thursday despite the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week supporting a "firm" monetary stance.
Debt discharge no guarantee for a clean start
Debt discharges fail to generate a fresh start as intended by the law, new research from the Federal Reserve Board posits.
Strong policy responses shorten crises
Strong policy responses have a marked impact on the duration of crises, a new study from the International Monetary Fund posits.
Should monetary policy lean or clean: a reassessment
The current turmoil has undermined the view that central banks can deal with bubbles and imbalances after they burst, argues William White
Egypt narrows rate corridor with cuts
The Central Bank of Egypt narrowed its rate corridor and loosened monetary policy in a bid to foster credit growth.
Latvia cuts to 4%
The Bank of Latvia cut its key rate by a full percentage point on Thursday in a bid to limit the scale of its economic contraction.
Russia cuts for second time in a month
The Central Bank of Russia chopped a half point off its key rate on Wednesday, little more than a fortnight after its last cut.
BoJ rate minutes: 7 April decision unanimous
Minutes of the 7 April monetary-policy meeting at the Bank of Japan, published on 8 May, show that the council unanimously supported the decision to leave the target rate at 0.1%.
India ex-finance minister calls for "massive" cuts
A former Indian finance minister has called on the Reserve Bank of India to cut rates drastically in order to buoy the country's flagging economy.
Canada's Carney stresses policy flexibility
The Bank of Canada retains considerable monetary-policy flexibility despite rates being near the zero bound, said Mark Carney, the governor of the central bank.
Norway cuts to a record low
Norges Bank on Wednesday cut its key rate by half a point to an all-time low of 1.5% on signs that the global recession was having an adverse impact on the domestic economy.
SA expected to continue easing after 100bps
The South African Reserve Bank acted in line with market expectations on Thursday by cutting 100 basis points off its main rate - a move which it is now forecast to repeat in May after the governor signalled the economy was in recession.