Central banking
Bank of Korea leaves rates unchanged at 3% in a surprise move
The Bank of Korea (BOK) in Seoul on Dec. 28, 2024. Kim Jae-Hwan | Lightrocket | Getty Images South Korea’s central bank Thursday held its benchmark policy rate at 3% in a surprise move, having delivered two back-to-back cuts in its previous meetings amid a slowing economy. Economists polled by Reuters had estimated a 25-basis-point […]
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UK homeowners brace for higher mortgages as borrowing costs spike
Sunlight illuminates the front of a row of Victorian-era houses in a terraced street in Bristol, England. Matt Cardy | Getty Images News | Getty Images LONDON — Hundreds of thousands of U.K. homeowners are facing the prospect of higher mortgage rates after a spike in U.K. borrowing costs. Major high street lender Virgin Money […]
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A global bond sell-off is deepening as investors pare Fed rate cut expectations
The Eccles Building, location of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and of the Federal Open Market Committee. Brooks Kraft | Getty Images A sell-off in global bond markets is accelerating, fueling concerns over government finances and raising the specter of higher borrowing costs for consumers and businesses around the world. Bond yields […]
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BOJ deputy governor flags chance of rate hike next week
Shoppers in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2022. James Whitlow Delano | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Bank of Japan will debate whether to raise interest rates next week, as prospects of sustained wage gains heighten and the U.S. policy outlook becomes clearer in President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural address, Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino said. […]
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India’s inflation slows to lower-than-expected 5.22% in December, boosting case for rate cuts
People buy vegetables at a vegetable market in Siliguri, India, on December 28, 2024. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images India’s inflation declined for a second straight month year on year, coming in just below expectations at 5.22% in December, boosting the case for prospective interest rate cuts. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a […]
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Why China’s central bank has stopped bond purchases
BEIJING — The Chinese central bank halted its government bond purchases Friday in an attempt to slow a one-way bonds trade that’s put unwanted downward pressure on the yuan, analysts said. China’s 10-year bond yield plunged to a record low this month, while the Chinese currency traded in Hong Kong on Wednesday hit its weakest […]
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China central bank suspends treasury bond buying citing short supply
A woman walks past the headquarters of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, in Beijing, China September 28, 2018. Jason Lee | Reuters China’s central bank said on Friday it has decided to suspend treasury bond purchases temporarily due to short supply of the bonds. The People’s Bank of China said it would resume bond buying depending on supply and demand in the government bond market. Source
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CNBC Daily Open: Fed’s inflation worries didn’t bother markets
Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, at a news conference after a Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 18, 2024. Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything […]
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Asia’s central banks face a formidable challenge: An ascendant U.S. dollar
A man looks in the window of a money changer showing the rate of various currencies against the Japanese yen, along a street in central Tokyo on April 29, 2024. Richard A. Brooks | Afp | Getty Images Central banks in Asia face a catch-22 in 2025. A relentless rise in the U.S. dollar has […]
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Australia November retail sales rise by most in 10 months on Black Friday boost
Pedestrians pass shops in the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney, Australia, on Friday, July 26, 2024. Lisa Maree Williams | Bloomberg | Getty Images Australian retail sales saw the biggest increase in 10 months in November as Black Friday discounting drew cost-conscious shoppers, but even so they missed forecasts suggesting consumer demand remains subdued. Analysts also suspect the extra demand was just brought forward from […]
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