Search Results for: interest rates
US central bank cuts growth forecast for 2014
June 19th, 2014
The US Federal Reserve has cut its growth forecast for 2014 because of the harsh winter weather. The central bank is now predicting growth of between 2.1% and 2.3% for this year, down from its March forecast of 2.8% ...
Bank of England ‘puzzled’ by productivity gap
June 16th, 2014
The Bank of England says productivity is 16% below its pre-crisis trend – but says it is at a loss to understand why. Its latest quarterly bulletin says that since the onset of the 2007-08 financial crisis, labour productivity ...
Hungary Verdict to Pave Way for $15 Billion FX Loan Plan
June 16th, 2014
Hungary’s supreme court will complete its precedent rulings today on foreign-currency mortgages, paving the way for the government to phase out loans worth about $15 billion. The court, known as Kuria, will brief reporters at 12:30 p.m. in Budapest ...
RBNZ raises OCR to 3.25 percent
June 12th, 2014
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has issued a press release informing that it has increased the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent. New Zealand’s economic expansion has considerable momentum, with GDP estimated ...
Australia Employers Cut Workers in May as Unemployment Holds
June 12th, 2014
Australian employers unexpectedly cut payrolls in May, underscoring the likelihood interest rates will remain at a record low for an extended period. The number of people employed fell by 4,800, the statistics bureau said in Sydney today. That compares ...
Asian Stocks Retreat From Six-Year High as Kiwi Advances
June 12th, 2014
Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index retreating from its highest close in six years, after U.S. stocks dropped by the most in three weeks. Euronext delayed the opening of cash markets due to a “critical issue” while ...
Fed Prepares to Keep Super-Sized Balance Sheet for Years to Come
June 11th, 2014
Federal Reserve officials, concerned that selling bonds from their $4.3 trillion portfolio could crush the U.S. recovery, are preparing to keep their balance sheet close to record levels for years. Central bankers are stepping back from a three-year-old strategy ...
Fed’s Bullard: ‘The Bubble Was Developing Under Our Noses’
June 10th, 2014
Perhaps accidently wiping out in one fell swoop six years of carefully orchestrated and minutely maintained Fed propaganda, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard admitted to reporters on Monday after a speech in Palm Beach, Florida, that the Fed ...
Currency Carry Trades Rise in ECB’s Negative-Rate World
June 10th, 2014
Mario Draghi is becoming one of currency traders’ only friends. With the $5.3 trillion-a-day foreign-exchange market poised to deliver its worst first-half returns on record, the carry trade is about the only way traders are making money by exploiting ...
ECB’s Big Bang Is Impressive, but More Is Needed
June 6th, 2014
After dropping hints for several weeks, the European Central Bank made history today by doing what no major central bank has done outside a major financial crisis: It pushed the rate on bank deposits to minus 0.1 percent. The ...
