Central banking
Fed Chair Powell speaks on Capitol Hill this week with politics front and center
Key Points Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell heads to Capitol Hill this week, with testimony to Congress kicking off Tuesday morning as Powell presents the Fed’s monetary policy report. Multiple White House officials have cranked up the heat on Powell to start lowering rates, and he’s now faced with two key Fed officials who have […]
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Fed Governor Waller says central bank could cut rates as early as July
Key Points Fed Governor Christopher Waller said Friday that he doesn’t expect tariffs to boost inflation significantly so policymakers should be looking to lower interest rates as early as next month. “If you’re starting to worry about the downside risk [to the] labor market, move now, don’t wait,” he said. Most Fed policymakers prefer a […]
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Rice prices more than double in May as Japan core inflation jumps to highest levels since 2023
A worker handles sacks of brown rice at a Shinmei Co. plant in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan, on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. Bags of rice are expected to start filling the shelves of Japan’s supermarkets again soon as farmers harvest their new crop, though the increase in supply will do little to tame higher prices. […]
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Switzerland enters era of zero interest rates
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) in Bern, Switzerland, on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. Stefan Wermuth | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Swiss National Bank on Thursday cut interest rates by a further 25 basis points to 0% — adding to concerns over a potential return to negative rates. The reduction was widely expected by markets ahead of the decision, […]
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Fed holds key rate steady, still sees two more cuts this year
WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept interest rates steady amid expectations of higher inflation and lower economic growth ahead, and still pointed to two reductions later this year. With markets expecting no chance of a central bank move this week, the Federal Open Market Committee kept its key borrowing rate targeted in a […]
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Bank of Japan to slow cuts to government bond purchases from April next year as growth risks loom
A pedestrian walks past the Bank of Japan (BoJ) building in central Tokyo on July 28, 2023. Richard A. Brooks | Afp | Getty Images Japan’s central bank on Tuesday said it would slow the cuts to government bond purchases from April next year, while it also held the benchmark rate at 0.5% amid rising […]
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India’s central bank beats market expectations to deliver outsized rate cut of 50 points
People walk past Reserve Bank of India signage in front of an installation stall at Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, India, on Aug. 28, 2024. Indranil Aditya | Nurphoto | Getty Images India’s central bank delivered an outsized cut to its benchmark policy rate, bringing it to 5.5% from 6%, its lowest level since August […]
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European Central Bank trims interest rates after inflation dips below target
The European Central Bank on Thursday announced a 25-basis-point interest rate trim and lowered its inflation expectations on the back of a stronger euro and lower energy costs. This takes the deposit facility rate to 2%, down from a mid-2023 high of 4%. Ahead of the announcement, traders had been pricing in an almost 99% […]
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The European Central Bank is almost guaranteed to cut rates. Here’s what could happen next
A projected illumination marking the 75th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, on the Grossmarkthalle building at the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, on May 9, 2025. Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty Images The European Central Bank is all but guaranteed to trim its key interest rate on Thursday. Markets were last pricing in an […]
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Australia’s first-quarter economic growth stays flat at 1.3%, missing estimates
Sydney Harbour and the skyline of the central business district (CBD) in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Australia’s economy grew less than expected in the first quarter this year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said in a statement Wednesday, as growth stalled amid the simmering global trade […]
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