forexsq.com - The European Central Bank wants Greece to remain in the euro zone while the decision for Greece's possible exit from the currency union isn't an issue that the ECB would need to decide on, ECB President Mario Draghi said Wednesday.
This was the first time the ECB's head commented on Greece since inconclusive elections unseated the government there recently, leading to worries tha
forexsq.com - The Reserve Bank of Australia cut its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point as inflation pressures abate, delivering a bigger-than-forecast reduction that sent the local dollar and bond yields tumbling. Governor Glenn Stevens and his board slashed the overnight cash rate target to a two-year low of 3.75 percent from 4.25 percent, the deepest reduction in three years, th
forexsq.com - Any failure by the Bank of Japan to expand its asset-purchase program at tomorrow’s board meeting would sow confusion over its policy, a former policy maker said.
Inaction “would be a disaster for communication,” Atsushi Mizuno, who served on the Bank of Japan board from 2004 to 2009, said in an interview yesterday in Tokyo. All 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before tom
forexsq.com - The charts show actual values and projections for three economic variables, based on FOMC participants’ individual assessments of appropriate monetary policy: Change in Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—as measured from the fourth quarter of the previous year to the fourth quarter of the year indicated, with values plotted at the end of each year. Unemployment Rate—the average c
forexsq.com - Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in March suggests that the economy has been expanding moderately. Labor market conditions have improved in recent months; the unemployment rate has declined but remains elevated. Household spending and business fixed investment have continued to advance. Despite some signs of improvement, the housing sector remains dep
forexsq.com - Bank of England policy maker David Miles said his vote for more stimulus this month still looks vindicated as the economy is weak and data tomorrow might even show it contracted in the first quarter.
“The weakness of demand, given the amount of spare capacity in the economy, still made a strategy of having monetary policy even more expansionary the right one,” Miles said in an in
forexsq.com - The Bank of Japan is ready to ease monetary policy further if necessary to help the economy recover and escape deflation, a deputy governor said on Wednesday, giving the strongest signal yet for additional stimulus since its surprise February action.
Kiyohiko Nishimura, speaking nine days before the BOJ's next policy review, also said global uncertainties such as Europe's debt cr
forexsq.com - Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher initially provided the only "No" vote on a motion before the Federal Open Market Committee at the height of the financial crisis—only to reverse his vote after an unrecorded lunch break, according to a heavily redacted transcript of Fed documents released Monday afternoon. The vote took place during the first day of a two-day m
The Bank of England held back from pumping more emergency cash into the economy today amid hopes that the UK has avoided a technical recession in the first three months of the year. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept its quantitative easing (QE) stock at £325 billion, after injecting £50 billion in February, while holding interest rates at a record low of 0.5%. The MPC's April meetin
The Manager of the System Open Market Account (SOMA) reported on developments in domestic and foreign financial markets during the period since the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met on January 24–25, 2012. He also reported on System open market operations, including the ongoing reinvestment into agency-guaranteed mortgage-backed securities (MBS) of principal payments received on SOMA holdi
Forexsq.com - Federal Reserve officials agreed at their last meeting that the U.S. economic recovery had strengthened moderately, but remained cautious about the pace of improvement in the jobs market.
Minutes from the March 13 meeting of the central bank's policy-making committee, released Tuesday after the customary three-week lag, showed little enthusiasm for launching soon any additional
Forexsq.com - I'm glad to have the chance to speak again to the Independent Community Bankers of America, even if it's by way of prerecorded remarks. This will be the first time in quite a few years that I haven't been with you in person, but, as you may know, the Federal Open Market Committee met just yesterday in Washington, so I am unable to join you in Nashville. I have very much enjoyed atte
Forexsq.com - Japan's economy currently confronts the large structural challange of declining trend growth rates amid rapid aging population. Tackling this challenge is crucial for establishing a new basis for economic growth. The goal of overcoming deflation will be achieved through such efforts to strengthen growth potential and via support from financial side. With this in mind, it is importan
Forexsq.com - The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%. The Committee also voted to continue with its programme of asset purchases totalling £325 billion financed by the issuance of central bank reserves. The Committee expects the announced programme of asset purchases to take another two months to comp
Forexsq.com - The recovery of the U.S. economy continues, but the pace of expansion has been uneven and modest by historical standards. After minimal gains in the first half of last year, real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at a 2-1/4 percent annual rate in the second half.1 The limited information available for 2012 is consistent with growth proceeding, in coming quarters, at a pace clos
