Interest rates
RBNZ leaves OCR unchanged at 7.25 per cent
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced Thursday 27 July that the Official Cash Rate (OCR) will remain unchanged at 7.25 per cent. Reserve bank governor Alan Bollard said: "Recent economic developments have been broadly in line with our June Monetary…
Japan - Effects of the quantitative easing policy
The Bank of Japan Working Paper "Effects of the quantitative easing policy: A survey of empirical analyses" surveys the empirical analyses that examine the effects of the Bank of Japan (BOJ)'s quantitative easing policy (QEP).
Minutes suggest smaller rate cuts in Brazil
Brazil's central bank said Thursday 27 July it sees a "low probability" of inflationary pressures in the coming quarters, but interest rate cuts may need to be smaller to avoid a pickup in inflation.
BoJ 'very careful' about drastic rate hike-Yosano
Japan's Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano said Thursday 27 July the Bank of Japan is "very careful" about implementing credit tightening too drastically.
BoJ's Suda sees 'gradual' rate rises
Bank of Japan policy board member Miyako Suda repeated Wednesday 26 July the central bank's view that future rate increases would be 'gradual' if the economy continues to show sustained growth.
Israel's Fischer says fighting damages economy
The conflict between Israel and Hizbollah has had a "considerable" negative impact on Israel's economy but financial markets are expressing confidence it will bounce back, Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer told CNBC television on Tuesday 25 July.
Comment: RBI sounds warning call
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised interest rates by 25 basis points on 25 July. The central bank warned that the higher oil prices were having a "permanent" effect. Rapid credit growth and rising risk-premia were also top of the list of concerns…
SNB's Hildebrand says Middle East a risk
Philipp Hildebrand, a member of the Swiss National Bank's (SNB) governing board said in an interview the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah constitutes a new risk factor.
Minutes show Fed unsure on future rate path
Federal Reserve officials were uncertain about future interest rate steps at their last meeting, minutes released Thursday 20 July showed.
Some BOJ members wanted 0.5% hike - report says
Jiji Press reported on Friday 21 July that three Bank of Japan Policy Board members sought a steeper increase in the official discount rate at the central bank's meeting last week.
Minutes show BOJ waited to monitor markets
Minutes released on Thursday 20 July showed the Bank of Japan put off raising interest rates from zero at a board meeting in June because it wanted to monitor factors such as global markets and the U.S. economy.
OECD urges caution on BOJ rate moves
The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development warned on Thursday 20 July that the Bank of Japan should not rush further interest rate increases while there is a risk of slipping back into deflation.
Bank of England voted 7-0 to hold rates
Minutes from the Bank of England's 5 and 6 July Monetary Policy Committee meeting, published Wednesday 19 July, showed policy makers voted unanimously to keep the benchmark interest rate at 4.5 percent this month.
BOJ raises rates, Fukui staying put
The Bank of Japan on Friday 14 July ended its five-year-old policy of keeping interest rates near zero, saying that the nation has emerged from deflation and overcome the long economic slump.
Comment: A new era for the BoJ
As expected the Bank of Japan raised interest rates for the first time since March 2001 at its monetary policy meeting on 14 July. The decision to end the zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) with a 25 basis point hike in the overnight rate was unanimous one.
IMF says BOJ hike welcome news
A senior IMF official on Friday 14 July welcomed the decision by the Bank of Japan to end the era of zero interest rates.
More Greenspan, less Volcker, needed in Japan
This article published Wednesday 12 July by Bloomberg says that the Bank of Japan may engineer its first interest rate increase since August 2000 on Friday.
Bank of Canada keeps rates unchanged
The Bank of Canada left interest rates unchanged at 4.25% on Tuesday 11 July and repeated a May statement that the seven prior increases are enough to return inflation to its 2 percent goal.
Japan ruling party backs ending BoJ rate policy
The Bank of Japan has received clear backing from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on its plans to end the current zero interest rate policy.
Juncker says ECB 'pointing' to rate rise
Euro group president Jean-Claude Juncker said Monday 10 July the European Central Bank has been signalling that it will raise interest rates again before long.
Trichet gives strong hint on August rate rise
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said Thursday 6 July that the ECB governing council will meet in person on 3 August rather than by teleconference, as it normally does for its early August policy meeting.
Kohn with reflections on globalization & policies
In the speech 'Reflections on globalization and policies' given on 6 July Donald Kohn of the Federal Reserve said he was aware of the risk of raising rates more than necessary but saw a need for higher global interest rates to maintain stability.
Comment: The ECB's gamble
The president of the ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet, has announced that the central bank will take the highly unusually step of meeting in person on 3 August, rather than conduct the scheduled conference call. In doing so, Trichet has effectively pre-announced…
Comment: All eyes on Trichet
All but two of the 43 economists polled by Bloomberg recently expect the European Central Bank (ECB) to keep interest rates at 2.75% this week. All eyes will, however, be on the central bank's president, Jean-Claude Trichet, to see if he alludes to the…