Interest rates
Bank Indonesia's surprising rate hike to mitigate worse-than-expected trade deficit data
Unexpected rate hike leads economists to fear worse data is on its way; 'deficit problem could be more serious than markets expected', says DBS economist
'Bold' ECB cuts rates as low inflation settles in
Mario Draghi surprises markets by announcing a cut in the main refi rate in face of falling inflation; opinion differs on whether this is the ECB's last throw of the dice
Boston Fed president wants low rates well into future
Boston Fed president Eric Rosengren says Federal Reserve should not raise its short-term interest rates until there is ‘much more progress’ towards full employment and its inflation target
Chilean policy-makers grow concerned over inflation
Central Bank of Chile board members voice concerns over persistently low inflation in their October monetary policy meeting; vote to cut key policy rate for first time in 18 months
Hungarian easing shows no sign of abating
Central Bank of Hungary reduces its key policy rate for the fifteenth time in as many months, and says ‘further cautious easing’ could follow
RBI takes hawkish stance against inflation with another rate hike
Repo rate hike and MSF rate cut bring spread back to its normal level of 100 basis points; ‘material' risk of entrenched inflation could mean another hike is on the way, says DBS economist
Canadian research finds drop in uncertainty following policy changes
Bank of Canada working paper presents evidence that uncertainty over interest rates in Canada fell after recent changes to monetary policy including forward guidance
RBI and industry disagree over interest rate futures launch
Secret consultation on introducing interest rate futures in India finds disagreement between industry and regulators over the nature of the underlying bonds
Bank of Canada holds rates despite drop in growth and inflation forecasts
Governing council holds key policy rate at 1% despite suggesting inflation will take two years to return to target; says economy is rebalancing but the process will ‘take longer than previously projected’
OECD tells Brazilian government to stay quiet on interest rate policy
New report urges government to stop commenting on future trajectory of interest rates, and set fixed terms for MPC members ‘during which they cannot be dismissed'
Bundesbank warns over surge in German property prices
House prices in the country's biggest cities are up more than a quarter since 2010, as investors search for yield amid record low interest rates; lack of supply also plays a role, says new study
Central Bank of Chile cuts interest rates for first time in 18 months
Central bank cuts rate 25bp to 4.75%, amid slowing demand growth and below-target inflation; analyst says inflows, not outflows, biggest concern despite current account deficit
IMF paper sets parameters for model short-term real interest rate
Working paper sheds light on a ‘crucial' but overlooked question - and shows that the elasticity of interest rate volatility plays a crucial role in explaining real interest rate dynamics
RBA mulls further rate cuts as dollar keeps rising
Minutes of the latest monetary policy meeting show concerns remain over strong Australian dollar; new record low interest rate remains possible
Higher interest rates would have hurt savers, says ECB's Cœuré
Executive board member says loose monetary policy does not stem from a desire to favour borrowers, but as a necessary response to bring the world economy back to growth and ultimately help savers
Canadian bonds more normal than US and UK equivalents at ZLB
Canadian sovereign debt yields are more responsive to shocks than UK and US equivalents at zero lower bound; differences diminish at shorter maturities
McDermott reveals drop in New Zealand’s neutral rate of interest
Reserve Bank of New Zealand assistant governor says households and businesses should expect to face lower rates ‘on average’ in the future relative to before the crisis
RBA's Stevens complains of strong currency as rates stay on hold
Statement indicates frustration with Australian dollar strength as rates remain at 2.5%; analysts eye fundamentals approaching possible cut in November
Higher interest rates no ‘immediate threat' to UK banks, says FPC
Financial Policy Committee still warns firms are not taking sufficient account of potential stresses and that borrowers would be exposed to higher interest rates were debt levels to rise further
New Riksbank deputy explains reasons behind dissent
In his first public address as a Swedish monetary policy-maker, Martin Flodén says a cut in interest rates will help inflation target to be reached sooner, limiting financial imbalances in the long term
US monetary policy weakened by fees and interest changes, paper finds
Research finds payment of interest on excess reserves and higher fees on uncollateralised overdrafts boosted efficiency but damaged the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy
IMF paper discerns East African transmission mechanisms
Transmission mechanism ‘functions best' when signals are clear and the monetary regime simple and coherent; non-monetary factors are ‘main drivers' of macroeconomic outcomes in examined countries
Near-zero interest rates of limited help to non-financial firms
BIS quarterly review article finds that lesser pass-through is partly related to higher premium for risk required by financial intermediaries
Central Bank of Russia simplifies interest rate policy
New measures will streamline the interest rates that the central bank targets; changes brought in two days after the appointment of a new deputy governor for monetary policy