Central Bank

The economy is likely to expand moderately in 2010, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Monday, but his guardedly optimistic assessment for growth contained no hints that the central bank is looking to raise interest rates anytime soon. "Economic forecasts are subject to great uncertainty, but my guess is that we will continue to see modest economic growth next year," Bernanke told the Economic Club of Washington in a speech. That growth, he said, would be "sufficient to bring down the unemployment rate, but at...

LONDON — The Bank of England predicted a modest and sustained economic recovery for Britain on Wednesday, but tempered hope that the worst might be over with predictions that inflation will remain above its targets for the next two years. In presenting the central bank's quarterly inflation report, Governor Mervyn King offered a twinkling of optimism that good things might be in store for a country struggling to get back on track after the 2008 financial crisis. It has been in...

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo., Aug. 22 -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on Friday laid out his views of how the central bank should position itself to try to prevent or ease future financial crises. But he acknowledged that any such changes are fraught with new risks of their own. Bernanke wants the Fed to have a more explicit role overseeing the plumbing of the financial system -- the computer systems, contractual arrangements and such by which financial institutions conduct transactions.

A top Federal Reserve official on Tuesday called for the central bank to begin scaling back its massive stimulus program this summer, but acknowledged that it must remain flexible to changing economic conditions. The Fed has been buying $85 billion in bonds each month since the fall in an effort to lower long-term interest rates and turbocharge the recovery. But recent data suggest that the economy may be gaining its footing, igniting heated debate inside the central bank about how and when to end the buying spree.

TOKYO —Shinzo Abe, who will become Japan's prime minister Wednesday, kept up his calls on for the Bank of Japan to drastically ease monetary policy by setting an inflation target of 2 percent, and repeated that he wants to tame the strong yen to help revive the economy. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Cabinet resigned Wednesday to clear the way for a vote by parliament's lower house later in the day to formally install Abe as the nation's new leader. Japanese media have said Abe will name former prime...

The Federal Reserve, which has been at the center of the government rescue of the financial system, is now on the hot seat, with a debate on Capitol Hill emerging over its responsibility for the crisis and its proper role in preventing such events in the future. Lawmakers are simultaneously annoyed that the Fed did not do more to rein in the bad lending and other financial excesses that led to the financial crisis and recession, and wary of the Fed's aggressive steps over the past two years to...

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday broached the possibility of increasing its massive stimulus program if the economy weakens, suggesting it remains uncertain about the fate of the recovery. The Fed has been purchasing $85 billion in bonds a month in an effort to keep long-term interest rates low and stoke demand. The program is tied to improvement in the labor market, and officials had begun talking about tapering it off after several strong months of job growth this year. But...

WARSAW, Poland — The National Bank of Poland has cut interest rates to a historic low as the economy continues to slow and inflation is below target. The central bank cut its benchmark reference rate to 3 percent from 3.5 percent on Wednesday, surprising many economists who had expected the bank to keep rates on hold for now. The bank didn't give an immediate explanation for the move. However, when it made its last rate cut two months ago, it cited a marked economic slowdown in the...

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus will keep limits on money transfers and withdrawals until it is more confident that its ailing banks will not face a run, the central bank's chief said Thursday. Panicos Demetriades said the Central Bank of Cyprus wants to eliminate these controls as soon as possible, but it has to first make sure that trust in the banks has recovered sufficiently. Cyprus introduced strict limits, such as a 300-euro ($400) daily withdrawal limit, in...

DOWN, DOWN UNDER: Australia's central bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to a record low 2.75 percent Tuesday in an effort to boost economic growth. AUSSIE OPTION: The country's Treasurer said inflation is under control, so the central bank is in a position to deploy monetary policy, particularly when faced with a high Australian dollar. BILLABONG BONDS: the Australian dollar remains high because of demand for government bonds, viewed by investors...

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on Friday defended the central bank's ability to shield the economy from another financial crisis but warned that risks remained in the lightly regulated "shadow banking" system. The Fed is responsible for overseeing individual banks to ensure their safety and soundness, but in recent years it has ramped up its monitoring of an increasingly complex web of financial services. Bernanke said it is now conducting regular stress tests on banks, tracking credit...

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve has broadened its oversight beyond banks and now monitors a wide-range of financial institutions that could hasten another financial crisis, Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday. Bernanke said the Fed is still monitoring banks and other systematically important financial institutions. But it has widened its scope to include other important participants that could either trigger a crisis or make the system more vulnerable. Chief among them is...

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus will keep limits on money transfers and withdrawals until it is more confident that its ailing banks will not face a run, the central bank's chief said Thursday. Panicos Demetriades said the Central Bank of Cyprus wants to eliminate these controls as soon as possible, but it has to first make sure that trust in the banks has recovered sufficiently. Cyprus introduced strict limits, such as a 300-euro ($400) daily withdrawal limit, in...

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's central bank on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time in seven months, joining government efforts to boost the export-reliant economy as manufacturers such as Hyundai Motor Co. face tougher competition from Japanese rivals boosted by the weakening yen. The quarter percentage point cut in the official policy rate to 2.5 percent comes after South Korea's parliament earlier this week approved...

WARSAW, Poland — The National Bank of Poland has cut interest rates to a historic low as the economy continues to slow and inflation is below target. The central bank cut its benchmark reference rate to 3 percent from 3.5 percent on Wednesday, surprising many economists who had expected the bank to keep rates on hold for now. The bank didn't give an immediate explanation for the move. However, when it made its last rate cut two months ago, it cited a marked economic slowdown in...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand's central bank has intervened in the currency market for the first time in five years to try to curb the local dollar's rise. The rising Kiwi dollar, as the New Zealand currency is known, has been hurting the country's exporters. It is up about 12 percent against the U.S. dollar since the middle of last year. Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler told a parliamentary committee Wednesday that the central bank...

The European Central Bank should begin aggressively buying the bonds of troubled countries such as Italy to halt the region's financial crisis, the president of Portugal said in an interview that took aim at the failure of Europe's core leaders to take more decisive action. "This is a systemic crisis that took too long for Europe's leaders to be aware of," President Anibal Cavaco Silva said during a U.S. trip to court investment for the country and make the case that Portugal intends to stick by the...

BERLIN — In a country where belief in a rock-solid currency is a secular religion, the head of Germany's central bank, Jens Weidmann, is preaching fire and brimstone. As Europe takes radical steps to combat its years-long economic crisis, Weidmann is using his influential pulpit to turn German public opinion against the efforts. Comparing current plans to save the euro zone to the devil's work and likening them to an addictive drug, Weidmann has in recent weeks emerged as the...

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina's government announced new measures on Tuesday intended to suck up undeclared dollars in response to growing pressure to abruptly devalue the nation's currency. Economy Minister Hernan Lorenzino said the new tax-free bonds and certificates of deposit will pull into the banking system the foreign currencies that Argentines have hidden under mattresses and spirited out to illegal tax havens. Both measures are being sent to congress for approval, presumably...