Interest rates
China pledges further liberalisation of rates, FX
People's Bank of China governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, pledged on Thursday 26 January to liberalise China's interest rate and foreign exchange policy further as part of wider economic reform but said the moves would be gradual.
BoE's Gieve: Oil prices should not impact on rates
John Gieve, the new deputy governor of the Bank of England, on Thursday 26 January rejected suggestions that UK interest rates should rise simply because of very high energy costs.
Bank interest rate pass-through in the euro area
The European Central Bank Working Paper 'Bank interest rate pass-through in the euro area: a cross country comparison' investigates the pass-through between market interest rates and bank interest rates in the euro area.
Bank of England voted 8-1 to hold rates
Minutes of the Bank of England's last Monetary Policy Committee meeting, released Wednesday 25 January, showed that only dovish Stephen Nickell wanted to lower UK interest rates a quarter-point.
BOJ minutes show reluctance for price target
According to minutes from the Bank of Japan board's December meeting released on Wednesday 25 January, some members of the BOJ's policy board felt it would be hard to set a desirable rate of inflation.
Bank of Canada raises interest rates 0.25%
The Bank of Canada announced on Tuesday 24 January that it is raising its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 3 1/2 per cent. In a statement the bank said the move was necessary to keep inflation on target over the…
Fed's Poole: Rate rise forecast 'sensible'
St. Louis Fed President William Poole said in an interview published on Monday 23 January that inflation is less worrying now but one or more interest-rate hikes by the Fed could be considered a "sensible forecast".
IMF's Rajan sees a very promising 2006
The International Monetary Fund's Chief Economist on Friday 20 January predicted better global economic growth in 2006 but warned the European Central Bank against raising interest rates too quickly.
Bini Smaghi says rate to rise if justified by data
European Central Bank board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said on Wednesday 18 January that the ECB will raise its interest rates if new economic data justifies this move.
Policy shift will be 'headache' says Watanabe
Coping with higher interest rates will pose a "headache" for the Japanese economy, and the central bank is considering how to limit the impact on bonds, according to Hiroshi Watanabe, Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs, who was…
ECB's Tumpel-Gugerell optimistic on growth
European Central Bank executive board member Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell said on Tuesday 17 January prospects for economic growth across the eurozone are improving.
Europe's central bank must show some backbone
According to this article published on Monday 9 January , political pressure could be responsible for the European Central Bank's 'timid' interest rate move last month.
Soros expects global economy slow down in 2007
International financier George Soros said in Singapore Monday 9 January that he expects a global recession in 2007 if the U.S. housing market continues to cool after the Fed halts it rate hike campaign.
Fed may take pass at Jan. 31 meeting
According to this article published on Thursday 5 January, there's an outside chance the Federal Reserve could pass on raising rates on 31 January following 25-basis-point moves at each of the last 13 meetings. The next move skywards would put the Fed's…
Interview with ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet
In recent comments European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said that monetary policy "cannot resolve all problems by itself". "We need profound structural reforms to increase our growth potential", Trichet warned.
ECB's message can get lost in translation
On occasions the European Central Bank's monthly news conferences on interest rates can be as much an exercise in linguistic guesswork as a window on the thinking of the world's number two central bank, according to this article published Wednesday 4…
Constancio says no specific ECB rate rises planned
The European Central Bank has no specific plans for future monetary policy changes, ECB Governing Council member Vitor Constancio of Portugal said on Wednesday 4 January.
Study shows Fed deflation tools can work
The Federal Reserve has several ways to boost the economy even if official U.S. interest rates were ever to hit zero, but the public needs to understand them to make them effective, a new Fed study shows.
Fed minutes signpost end to rate hikes
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday 3 January said it considers its 1-1/2 year long policy of raising U.S. interest rates is nearing an end, saying a statement after its December meeting aimed to signal only a few more increases were likely.
Fed can see an end to interest rate increases
Federal Reserve officials may be close to ending the series of interest-rate increases they started 18 months ago, according to this article published on Wednesday 4 January, though they will keep going as long as necessary to combat inflation, it says.
ECB's Quaden says rates supportive
Eurozone interest rates of 2.25 percent are still supportive of economic growth, European Central Bank Governing Council member Guy Quaden told Belgian magazine Tendances Trends on Thursday 29 December.
Trichet defends ECB's rate rise
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet told Der Spiegel magazine that the ECB's recent decision to increase interest rates would increase confidence and encourage investment in the eurozone.
Fed breaks pattern, signals replace promises
According to this recent article, the Federal Reserve's latest FOMC statement marks the end to an extraordinary 18-month period during which they telegraphed exactly what they were going to do at their next policy-making meeting.
Bank of England voted 8-1 to hold rates
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee members voted 8- 1 to keep interest rates unchanged this month, the first split vote since August, minutes released on Wednesday 21 December showed.