Page 5 - Interest Rates

US economy has grown at solid pace again last quarter despite high rates

Powered by consumer spending, the U.S. economy likely kept expanding at a healthy pace from July through September despite the pressure of still-high interest rates. The Commerce Department is expected to report Wednesday that the gross domestic product the economy's total output of goods and services grew at a 2.6% annual pace last quarter, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet. That would be down from a 3% annual rate in the April-June period. But it would still amount to a solid pace as Americans ponder the state of the economy in the final stretch of the presidential race. Wednesday's report is the first of three estimates the government will make of GDP growth for the third quarter of the year. The U.S. economy, the world's biggest, has shown surprising resilience in the face of the much higher borrowing rates the Federal Reserve imposed in 2022 and 2023 in its drive to curb inflation. Despite widespread predictions that the economy would succumb to a .

Positives outweigh negatives in economy: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das

Says action against NBFCs in the best interest of customers

LIC eyes entry into bond forward rate agreement market by end of FY25

The move comes as the interest rate cycle is set to soften, with insurers offering more guaranteed-return products

ECB set to deepen global easing with interest rate cut it didn't expect

US reports will offer a sense of how much momentum consumers, manufacturers and homebuilders had approaching the final quarter of the year

RBI MPC highlights: Inflation expected to remain elevated during September, October, says Das

RBI Monetary Policy Meeting October 2024 highlights: Catch all the latest news updates on RBI's monetary policy announcements here

Lock into attractive SCSS, FD returns before interest rate cuts begin

Investors with a longer time frame will be better off investing in longer-tenured FDs

BOJ policymaker calls for slow, cautious movement on interest rate hikes

The comments from Bank of Japan board member Asahi Noguchi come a day after Japan's new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, said the economy was not ready for further rate hikes

Inflation in Europe falls below 2%, paves way for faster interest rate cuts

Inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro fell to 1.8 per cent in September, below the European Central Bank's target of 2 per cent for the first time in more than three years as falling energy prices give consumers relief from a burst of inflation that at one point reached into double digits. Tuesday's official figure coupled with an anemic growth outlook could pave the way for faster interest rate cuts from the ECB, which has already trimmed rates twice. Inflation fell from 2.2 per cent in August, according to European Union statistics agency Eurostat. The last time inflation hit the ECB's 2 per cent goal was in June, 2021 when it was 1.9 per cent. Economists have started to consider the possibility of a rate cut at the bank's October 17 meeting. A few weeks ago, the expectations were that the central bank would wait until December before lowering borrowing costs again for consumers and businesses. The bank must juggle the need to make sure inflation is under control, which

SNB cuts interest rates by 25 basis points for third time this year

Markets had priced in a 55 per cent probability of a 25 basis point cut before the decision

US Fed rate cut: How leading brokerages interpret the development

US Fed rate cut: Policymakers, according to reports, expect the Fed's benchmark to fall another half of a percentage point by 2024-end, and another one per cent in 2025

US Fed cuts interest rates: What does this mean for the global economy?

The US Federal Reserve on September 18, reduced its benchmark interest rates by 0.5%. This marked the first rate by the US Fed since 2020. How does the Fed's rate move affect global economies?

US Fed slashes interest rates by 50 bps for the first time since 2020

Policymakers see the Fed's benchmark rate falling by another half of a percentage point by the end of this year, and another full percentage point in 2025

RBI unlikely to cut rates in 2024 amid food inflation uncertainty: SBI

The Reserve Bank is unlikely to ease the benchmark policy rate during 2024 given the uncertainty over food inflation, State Bank of India (SBI) chairman C S Setty has said. The US Federal Reserve's first cut in interest rates in more than four years is expected soon, triggering central banks in other economies to follow suit. "On the rate front, a lot of central banks are taking independent calls. While Fed rate cut would influence everyone, RBI would be mindful of the food inflation before taking a call on interest rate cut," Setty, who took over the reins of the bank recently, told PTI in an interview. "That is what our view is, and our view is also that the rate cut during the current calendar year may not happen, probably we may have to wait for Q4 (January-March 2025) unless there is a good improvement in terms of food inflation," he said. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das is scheduled to meet during October 7-9 and take a call on inter

World braces for Federal Reserve easing amid 36-hour rate rollercoaster

When Fed policymakers sit down Tuesday for the start of their two-day meeting, they'll have fresh figures on the state of consumer demand

Pakistan central bank's MPC cuts key policy rates by 200 bps to 17.5%

Pakistan's Central bank on Thursday cut its key policy rate by 200 basis points to 17.5 per cent from 19.5 per cent bowing to demands for a major rate cut. The State Bank in a statement said that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to reduce the policy rate by 200 basis points (bps) to 17.5 per cent in its meeting on Thursday. Various factors impacting the inflation outlook were taken into consideration while reaching this decision, it said. Inflation in August was at 9.6 per cent, resulting in a positive real interest rate of 10 per cent. Financial experts generally anticipated a reduction of 150 bps with some forecasting a cut of up to 200 bps. However, industry leaders advocated for a deep 500 bps cut to spur economic growth. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) assessed the real interest rate to still be adequately positive to bring inflation down to the medium-term target of 5 to 7 per cent and help ensure macroeconomic stability, the statement read. The MPC said glob

Era of free mortgages over in Japan with central bank raising interest rate

Japan's central bank had maintained benchmark interest rates near zero since the mid-1990s. As a result, many home buyers have gotten used to paying between 0.3 and 0.4 per cent

SBI fighting for deposits through 'service quality', says C S Setty

The lender will try to understand the pain points of customers such as staff shortage

Bank of Canada may cut interest rates deeper, faster over next year

Policymakers led by Governor Tiff Macklem are expected to lower the benchmark overnight rate to 4.25 per cent at their Sept. 4 meeting

Interest rate derivatives to get boost as top insurer LIC enters market

Forward rate agreements (FRA) are contracts between banks and insurance firms that allow the latter to lock in rates for a future date, protecting them from volatility

Consumers could become discouraged unless rates drop: Bank of America CEO

At the end of July the Fed kept the policy rate in the same 5.25 per cent-5.50 per cent range it has been for more than a year, but signaled that a rate cut could come as soon as September