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Faced with record inflation, the European Central Bank is expected to resist pressure for an interest rate cut when its governing council meets this week, in the wake of moves by the US Federal Reserve.
The switch from legacy currencies to the euro was completed in a month in Cyprus and Malta, the European Central Bank said Monday, with the single currency replacing half the pounds and liris on its first day.
Eurozone interest rates should stay stable on Thursday but the European Central Bank will likely acknowledge that weakening growth could foretell a cut once inflation comes off the boil, analysts say.
The Bank of England (BoE) was widely expected to cut its key interest rate on Thursday as it seeks to stimulate economic growth while keeping a close eye on inflation.
The European Central bank (ECB) left its key lending rate unchanged at 4.0 percent Thursday as high inflation threatened the eurozone while the Bank of England cut to 5.25 percent to support faltering growth in Britain.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde on Friday welcomed the European Central Bank's more cautious view of the economic outlook but said the euro was still too high for comfort.
With just a month to go before Japan's top central banker steps down, the government has yet to name a successor to steer Asia's largest economy through a global slowdown and market turmoil.
The European Central Bank allocated 60 billion euros (88 billion dollars) during an exceptional three month refinancing operation marked by easing tensions on eurozone money markets, ECB figures showed Wednesday.
Inflation remains the primary risk to China's economy, and the government will stick to a tight monetary policy, state media reported Monday, citing a central bank vice governor.
German central bank governor Axel Weber, a member of the European Central Bank (ECB) governing council, doused market expectations Wednesday for a eurozone interest rate cut in the coming months.
The European Central Bank will make a cut of sorts this week -- but with eurozone inflation stubbornly high the cut will be to its growth forecasts, not interest rates.