Daily Archives: August 4, 2011

Ralph Atkins Weidmann makes his mark

August 4, 2011 6:33 pm by Ralph Atkins

So much for the European Central Bank meeting having a summery feel! Jean-Claude Trichet, president, announced bolder measures to confront the escalating eurozone crisis than expected – but financial markets still decided they did not go far enough.

Even so, Mr Trichet again found himself running into Bundesbank resistance. Jens Weidmann, its new president, interrupted his holiday to attend Thursday’s meeting in Frankfurt – and vote against the decision to revive the ECB’s bond purchasing programme. The word in Frankfurt is that he was not the sole dissenter. Read more

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Posted in European Central Bank |

Claire Jones BoE holds for 29th month in a row

August 4, 2011 2:05 pm by Claire Jones

This from the FT’s Norma Cohen:

The Bank of England’s monetary policymakers voted to hold rates steady at their current historic lows of half a percentage point and keep the outstanding level of gilts purchases level at £200bn as widely expected. Read more

Posted in Bank of England |

Claire Jones ECB holds rates at 1.5 per cent

August 4, 2011 2:01 pm by Claire Jones

This from the FT’s Ralph Atkins:

The European Central Bank has left its main interest rate unchanged at 1.5 per cent as it weighs responses to the escalating eurozone debt crisis. Read more

Posted in European Central Bank |

Claire Jones Japan intervenes, expands asset purchases

August 4, 2011 1:58 pm by Claire Jones

This from the FT’s Lindsay Whipp in Tokyo:

Japan intervened in the currency markets on Thursday to slow the rapid rise of the yen, in the latest response by policymakers to deal with the worsening outlook for the global economy. Read more

Posted in Bank of Japan |

Claire Jones Central banks act on global uncertainty

August 4, 2011 1:55 pm by Claire Jones

Central bankers this week have acted on fears that the global outlook could weigh on domestic growth.

The Central Bank of Turkey’s shock decision on Thursday to cut its policy rate to an all-time low in the face of strong growth and above-target inflation shows just how pronounced those fears are.

Japan and Switzerland have both attempted to counter their currencies’ rapid appreciations over recent weeks, which have occurred on the back of events in the US and the eurozone.  Read more

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Posted in Banco de Brasil, Bank of Japan, Central bank of Turkey, Swiss National Bank |