Page 10 - Interest Rates

ECB's next move is 'a cut' but policymakers spar on timing: Report

The ECB kept its key rate unchanged at a record high 4% last Thursday but sounded confident that inflation was coming under control

American Express misses Q4 profit estimates on higher loan loss provisions

Eleven rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve have made borrowing expensive and increased risks of more defaults, especially as credit card debt is typically costlier than other loans

No hint of cuts as ECB keeps rates unchanged at record-high of 4%

Investors are betting that the ECB is getting it wrong on both growth and inflation and will be forced to U-turn and deliver five rate cuts in rapid succession from early spring

RBI 'mute spectator', allowing banks to charge high interest rates: HC

The Allahabad High Court has observed that the Reserve Bank of India has been a "mute spectator" while banks are imposing arbitrarily high interest rates on customers despite guidelines issued by the banking regulator. The observation was made by a bench comprising Justices Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Prashant Kumar while disposing of a petition filed by Manmeet Singh who had availed of a loan of Rs 9 lakh from a private bank. "Surprisingly, RBI had been issuing guidelines but has done nothing for the implementation of the same. They have just been a mute spectator allowing the banks to charge arbitrarily a very high rate of interest," the court observed. On the RBI's responsibility as the banking regulator in the country, the court said, "Even if the benefit of doubt is given to the banks that they are free to charge the interest rate but it is duty of the RBI to see that the customers are not inconvenienced by huge rate of interest charged by the banks." The petitioner had obtain

Small, big and systemically important banks

The systemically important bank classification is no comment on how secure depositors' money is in other banks. Sit back, relax and enjoy the higher rates for now

Rising interest rates threaten India's credit growth, pressure margins

While Samsung Electronics Co. disappointed last week, the country's chip output and shipments grew the most in years in November, reviving optimism about the outlook

Weak earnings, fading US interest rate cut hopes drag Indian stock market

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 shed 0.51% to 21,462.25, while the S&P BSE Sensex lost 0.44% to 71,186.86

US homebuilder confidence spiked most in January since February 2023

The National Association of Homebuilders/Wells Fargo index of builder confidence rose this month to 44, the highest since September, from an unrevised 37 in December

RBI may shift policy stance to neutral by Jun, cut rates by Aug: Nomura

The Reserve Bank may shift the monetary policy stance to "neutral" by June and deliver rate cuts starting August this year, a Japanese brokerage said on Monday. Pointing out to softer core inflation 'or price rise in items excluding food and fuel' in the data released for December, Nomura said there is a need for the policy to pivot towards an easier regime after the extended pause. The brokerage reiterated its earlier view of rate cuts being expected from August onwards, and pegged the quantum of cuts at 1 percentage point. "We expect 1 per cent of rate cuts cumulatively starting August, with a change of stance to 'neutral' in Q2, with risks skewed towards earlier easing," its analysts said. The core inflation for December came at 3.8 per cent, the note said, adding that the annualized growth of super-core inflation has dipped below 3 per cent by its estimates which is a "positive surprise". For January, the headline inflation is likely to cool-off to about 5 per cent, while the

Bond sales hit record pace as emerging markets see year of risks ahead

The rush this early in the year underscores a belief that interest rates are as low as they can get for some time to come

US job growth surpass expectations in December; wages rise solidly

Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% in December after gaining 0.4% in the prior month. That raised the year-on-year increase in wages to 4.1% from 4.0% in November

Israel delivers first interest rate cut since pandemic as war rages

The monetary committee on Monday lowered its key rate to 4.5% from 4.75%, ending a pause in place since July

Demand uptick, easing inflation to provide advantage to exports in 2024

Easing inflation in developed countries, softening interest rates, a gradual pick up in global demand and other factors will provide a silver lining for the country's exports and the overall outbound shipments are expected to be more than USD 900 billion in 2024. International trade experts have expressed hope that the services sector would perform better than merchandise and the country's overall outbound shipments may touch over USD 900 billion in 2024 against an estimated USD 764 billion in 2023. A stable rupee against the US dollar, focus on new markets like Latin America and Africa, new items like mobiles and fresh fruits, focus on promoting e-commerce exports, free trade agreements with the UAE and Australia would also help the country register healthy growth in outbound shipments next year. Despite various challenges, including geopolitical tensions and China's subdued post-pandemic recovery, impacting exports this year, India's goods and services exporters have managed to ta

Scaling peaks: Sensex tops 72,000 in Santa Claus rally, Nifty50 passes 21k

The easing of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge has further bolstered hopes of aggressive rate cuts next year

Crypto market eyes interest rates, expected bitcoin ETFs in 2024: Report

The price of bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency and the market's chief barometer, has more than doubled this year, reaching a 20-month high in November of $42,000 per token

No plans to loosen rates, no complacency on inflation fight: RBI governor

Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday ruled out loosening interest rates, saying inflation remains top priority as a few months of good data should not lead to complacency, even as the Reserve Bank kept key policy rates unchanged for the fifth consecutive time. The six-member monetary policy committee of the Reserve Bank of India voted to leave the repurchase rate at 6.50 per cent and decided to keep on sucking out liquidity from the system. Addressing reporters after the bi-monthly policy announcement at the central bank headquarters here, Das clarified that the inclusion of over-tightening in his policy statement should not be construed as anything else. A "loosening" of the rates is not on the table at all," the governor said. Sounding more hawkish, Das said, "The primary objective of the monetary policy, as prescribed in the law, is ensuring price stability that's by maintaining inflation at 4 per cent target for a durable time. ...in May 2022 when we had shifted our focus from .

US 10-year yields hit three-month lows on growth concerns, rate change

US data this week will be closely watched for new clues on the strength of the economy, with Friday's jobs report for November the main focus

US dollar gains back ground on rate bets; bitcoin breaches $42,000

The dollar index, which tracks the currency against six major peers, rose by 0.59% to 103.71, while the euro was last down 0.61% to $1.0815

World economy will slow in 2024 because of inflation, high rates, war: OECD

The global economy, which has proved surprisingly resilient this year, is expected to falter next year under the strain of wars, still-elevated inflation and continued high interest rates. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimated Wednesday that international growth would slow to 2.7% in 2024 from an expected 2.9% pace this year. That would amount to the slowest calendar-year growth since the pandemic year of 2020. A key factor is that the OECD expects the world's two biggest economies, the United States and China, to decelerate next year. The US economy is forecast to expand just 1.5% in 2024, from 2.4% in 2023, as the Federal Reserve's interest rate increases 11 of them since March 2022 continue to restrain growth. The Fed's higher rates have made borrowing far more expensive for consumers and businesses and, in the process, have helped slow inflation from its four-decade peak in 2022. The OECD foresees U.S. inflation dropping from 3.9% this

Mis-selling trap; air purifier basics: Top personal finance stories

Our pick this week explains when you must say no to your relationship manager and what the best purifiers do