Central banking
Swiss National Bank makes quarter-point interest rate cut, cites ‘low inflationary pressure’
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) in Bern, Switzerland, on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. Stefan Wermuth | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Swiss National bank on Thursday trimmed its key interest rate by a further 25 basis points as the country’s economy grapples with depressed inflation. “With today’s rate adjustment, the SNB is ensuring that monetary […]
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Fed holds interest rates steady, still sees two cuts coming this year
WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve in a closely watched decision Wednesday held the line on benchmark interest rates though still indicated that reductions are likely later in the year. Faced with pressing concerns over the impact tariffs will have on a slowing economy, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee kept its key borrowing rate targeted […]
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Bank of Japan keeps rates steady as Trump tariffs cast a shadow over economic outlook
Japan’s national flag flutters at the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on May 30, 2024. Kazuhiro Nogi | Afp | Getty Images Japan’s central bank on Wednesday kept its key policy rate steady at 0.5% in a unanimous vote, as the export-reliant country assesses the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade […]
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Japan revises fourth-quarter GDP lower, complicating BOJ’s interest rate outlook
TOPSHOT – Customers enter an electronics shop in the Akihabara district of Tokyo on January 12, 2024. Richard A. Brooks | Afp | Getty Images Japan’s economic growth slowed to 2.2% on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter, complicating the central bank’s case for a near-term interest rate as the country grapples with tepid […]
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Powell says Fed is awaiting ‘greater clarity’ on Trump policies before making next move on rates
Key Points Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday that the central bank can wait to see how President Donald Trump’s aggressive policy actions play out before it moves again on interest rates. “We do not need to be in a hurry, and are well positioned to wait for greater clarity,” the central bank chief […]
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‘Very concerned’ about Europe’s struggling economy, European Central Bank policymaker Centeno says
Europe’s struggling economy has economists worried — and senior European Central Bank policymaker Mário Centeno, echoes that view. “I am very concerned about the European economy,” Centeno, who is also governor of the Bank of Portugal, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday. On Thursday, the ECB revised its gross domestic product expectations for the […]
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European Central Bank cuts rates again, says policy is becoming ‘meaningfully less restrictive’
The European Central Bank on Thursday cut interest rates by 25 basis points and updated the language in its decision to say monetary policy was becoming “meaningfully less restrictive.” The cut brings the ECB’s deposit facility rate, its key rate, to 2.5% — a move that markets had widely priced in before the announcement. “Monetary […]
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European Central Bank to make ‘last easy rate cut’ as tariffs, higher fiscal spending loom
The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates for the second time this year at its Thursday meeting, but disagreement among policymakers may be set to increase amid tariff uncertainty and a potential ramp-up in regional defense spending. Markets had on Wednesday fully priced in a quarter-point rate cut for the March meeting, […]
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Bundesbank proposes debt reform that could add 220 bln euros to spending
Joachim Nagel, president of the Deutsche Bundesbank, during a presentation of the Bundesbank’s 2024 Annual Report in Frankfurt, Germany, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. Alex Kraus | Bloomberg | Getty Images Germany’s central bank proposed on Tuesday a far-reaching reform of the country’s constitutionally enshrined cap on borrowing, which could give the government up to […]
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Bank of Korea cuts rates to lowest since August 2022 to boost sluggish growth
People walk past the Korea Exchange (KRX) building in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 9, 2024. Daniel Ceng | Anadolu | Getty Images South Korea’s central bank cut rates by 25 basis points Tuesday to their lowest since August 2022, as it strives to stimulate a slowing economy. The Bank of Korea cut rates to […]
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