Interest rates
ECB Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - At today's meeting the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the minimum bid rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 3.25%, 4.25…
ECB refuses to join Fed rate cut for now
GERMANY - The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, opting not to join the U.S. Federal Reserve in monetary easing aimed at propping up the faltering global economy.
RBA holds interest rates steady again
AUSTRALIA - The Reserve Bank of Australia, in a widely anticipated response to a worsening global economy and the growing impact of the drought, announced on Wednesday that it had decided to leave interest rates on hold for a fifth month.
The Fed should cut next week
ARTICLE - The US economy is growing around trend, unemployment is at its lowest post-recession peak for decades, the housing market is firing on all cylinders - and the financial markets are expecting the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to a 40…
Czechs cut interest rates for fifth time this year
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech central bank yesterday cut interest rates for the fifth time this year in a new attempt to stimulate faltering domestic economic growth and slow the rapid appreciation of the Czech koruna.
Thailand's credit card rate to be capped at 18%
THAILAND - Interest rates and charges for credit cards issued by both banks and non-banks should be capped at 18%, says Finance Minister Somkid Jatusripitak.
Norges Bank Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Norges Bank keeps interest rates unchanged, 30 October.
Expectation increases of UK interest rate cut
UK - The odds against a cut in interest rates before the end of the year have shortened sharply after it emerged that three members of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee voted for a cut earlier this month.
ECB Working Paper Series
RESEARCH - 'Monetary policy and the zero bound to interest rates: a review', by Tony Yates, October 2002. The paper reviews the literature on what the zero bound to nominal interest rates implies for the conduct of monetary policy. A situation familiar…
Bank of Canada's Dodge softens rate hike stance
CANADA - David Dodge, the Bank of Canada governor, said yesterday economic growth would likely ease over the next three quarters so interest rates need not be raised as quickly as previously thought.
Brazil central bank raises interest rates to 21%
BRAZIL - Brazil's central bank yesterday sought to stave off a growing financial crisis by raising overnight interest rates by 3 percentage points to 21 per cent. The increase followed renewed pressure on the Real, the country's currency, before a likely…
How fiscal and monetary policy stifle the eurozone
ARTICLE - For Wim Duisenberg yesterday (10 October), attack was the best form of defence. Explaining the European Central Bank's decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.25 per cent, despite the dark clouds gathering over Europe's economy and…
Bank of England News Release
NEWS RELEASE - Bank of England Maintains Interest Rates at 4.0%, 10 October.
SARB Monetary Policy Review - October 2002
REPORT - The South African Reserve Bank has published its October Monetary Policy Review. The report reflects on increased inflationary pressures in the South African economy following the depreceiation of the rand in the latter half of 2001.
SARB-South Africa's inflation outlook has improved
SOUTH AFRICA - Central bank governor Tito Mboweni sent a strong signal on Tuesday that interest rates may not rise again in November, saying the country's inflation outlook had improved "significantly".
IMF's Kohler calls for ECB rate cut
EUROPE - International Monetary Fund Managing Director Horst Koehler said the European Central Bank should cut interest rates soon to help boost the economy.Koehler said he believes a drop in rates would stimulate growth, adding that central bankers must…
Bank of Canada warns on inflation rate
CANADA - The Bank of Canada said yesterday inflation would remain higher than expected until the middle of 2003 but analysts said it was still too close to call whether the bank will raise interest rates at its next policy announcement on 16 October.
Interest rates will fall says New Zealand's Cullen
NEW ZEALAND - Interest rates should start to come down following the change to the Reserve Bank's inflation target, New Zealand Finance Minister Michael Cullen told the Financial Times in London Thursday.
Japan and US: Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble
ARTICLE - With the American economy still sputtering and the Federal Reserve divided over whether to cut interest rates again, foreboding comparisons between the United States and Japan are gaining a renewed currency.
Aus and NZ central banks leave rates unchanged
OCEANIA - The Australian and New Zealand reserve banks left their benchmark interest rates unchanged Wednesday amid uncertainty over global economic growth.
Fed ready to cut rates if necessary - McDonough
US - A top United States Federal Reserve official has offered an assurance that the central bank stands ready to lower interest rates if the economy faltered, but said it was unlikely such help would be needed.
Fed's McTeer: Faster economic growth 'essential'
US - Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert McTeer, who pushed unsuccessfully for lower interest rates at a Fed policy meeting last week, said on Monday it was essential for the U.S. economy to grow faster.
Poland's central bank cuts rates
POLAND - Poland's central bank on Wednesday reduced its key interest rates by a half percentage point, making its sixth cut this year against the backdrop of a sluggish economy and falling inflation.
Fed holds rates steady but with rare split vote
US - The Federal Reserve on Tuesday held interest rates steady despite a hesitant economic recovery and worries about a possible war with Iraq. In an unusual move the meeting saw dissent, with two members calling for a rate reduction. This was the first…