Interest rates
U.S. Senate okays Bies, Olson to Fed board
US - The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed the nominations of bankers Susan Schmidt Bies and Mark Olson to the seven-member Federal Reserve Board, whose most visible job is setting U.S. interest rates.
Duisenberg - Current ECB rates appropriate
GERMANY - European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg Thursday justified the central bank's decision to leave interest rates unchanged by saying recent data confirmed the ECB's view that there are no immediate dangers for price stability in the euro…
Bank of England News Release
News Release - Bank of England Maintains Interest Rates at 4.0%.
Germany's CEI - Further ECB rate cuts unnecessary
GERMANY - There's no need for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates any further in coming weeks, the head of Germany's Center for European Integration Studies said.
BoC Dodge says low rates best way to support econ
CANADA - Bank of Canada governor David Dodge in a speech on Thursday 29 November said the best way to support the country's economy was to boost growth by cutting interest rates - which is what the central bank was doing.
Argentine central bank moves to cap interest rates
ARGENTINA - Argentina's Central Bank has entered potentially dangerous new territory this week, trying to impose ceilings on the interest rates banks pay depositors.
ECB's Trichet gives little away on rates
EUROPE - European Central Bank Governing Council member and Bank of France Governor Jean-Claude Trichet gave little indication in a German newspaper interview Saturday of when the ECB might cut interest rates again.
Bank's rising star tipped to back rate cut
AUSTRALIA - Long serving central banker Glenn Stevens is the emerging frontrunner to become new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia - and his first decision is likely to be for another cut in interest rates.
NZ Brash - Real prospect NZ econ will slow greatly
NEW ZEALAND - There is a "real" prospect of a significant downturn in the New Zealand economy over the next year, allowing interest rates to be lower than previously assumed without jeopardizing price stability, Reserve Bank Governor Donald Brash said…
Bank of England minutes refocus minds in markets
UK - The minutes of November's interest rate meeting at the Bank of England released Wednesday suggest that financial markets may have been premature in assuming interest rates won't fall below their current level.
The work of setting interest rates
FEATURE ARTICLE - By Svein Gjedrem, Governor of Norges Bank, the central bank of Norway, in Finansavisen, 9 November.
ECB's Padoa Schioppa sees no more cuts now
ITALY - Tommaso Padoa Schioppa, a member of the European Central Bank's council, said he doesn't see the euro-zone central bank cutting interest rates again in the foreseeable future, according to an interview with La Repubblica Saturday.
Argentine ctrl bk moves to fight drop in deposits
ARGENTINA - Argentina's central bank will order local banks to repatriate $1.9 billion of the loan loss reserve funds they have deposited in a Deutschebank account in New York City to inject more funds into the nation's money markets and keep interest…
Czech nat bank critical of gov't pressure on rates
CZECH REPUBLIC - Czech National Bank Governor Zdenek Tuma Thursday criticised Prime Minister Milos Zeman and Finance Minister Jiri Rusnok for publicly urging the central bank to cut interest rates in recent weeks.
Inflation no longer a threat to eurozone
EUROPE - Wim Duisenberg, president of the European Central Bank, said yesterday, Thursday, the bank's decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points to 3.25 per cent reflected both a need to prop up battered confidence, and the bank's belief that…
FOMC: 'Mild and short contraction' of US econ seen
US - Federal Reserve policymakers expect a "relatively mild and short" U.S. recession, but they're inclined to keep cutting interest rates to banish the prospect of a nastier downturn, minutes of their recent policy meetings suggest.
News release from the Bank of England
NEWS RELEASE - Bank Of England Reduces Interest Rates by 0.50% to 4.0%, 8 November.
Federal Reserve cuts rates to lowest since 1961
UNITED STATES - Struggling to reverse the slide in the U.S. economy, or at least to slow it, the Federal Reserve cut short-term interest rates on Tuesday by half a percentage point, to 2 percent, the lowest level since the 1960s.
Australia leaves interest rates unchanged
AUSTRALIA - Australia's central bank has opted to keep its interest rates unchanged on Wednesday despite the US Federal Reserve cutting its key overnight rates by 50 basis points to its lowest level in 40 years.
Australian economy stronger than US - Costello
AUSTRALIA - Australian Treasurer Peter Costello said Wednesday that a decision by the Reserve Bank to keep interest rates steady after its board meeting Tuesday isn't surprising given the country is in the midst of an election campaign.
Credit card issuers to benefit from Fed rate cut
USA - Issuers of credit cards, hurt by concerns the weakening economy will ramp up charge-off rates, may get a respite from the latest round of interest rates cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Fed expected to cut rates by another half-point
US - The US Federal Reserve is poised to cut interest rates today for the tenth time this year, extending its most aggressive rate-cutting campaign in recent history amid yet more evidence of proliferating weakness in the world's economic power.
Buba Welteke - ECB rate policy no hinder to growth
GERMANY - The European Central Bank's interest rates aren't an obstacle to growth, long-term and real interest rates are low and the ECB must avoid letting long-term inflation expectations build up, Deutsche Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke repeated,…
Fed's Smith - Rates dominate credit card pricing
US - The Federal Reserve's director of consumer affairs told a house panel Thursday that interest rates have come to dominate pricing practices for credit cards in recent years, although there is little systematic information about other aspects of card…