Banks borrowed less than expected from the European Central Bank in a key funding operation on Wednesday, easing fears about how they would cope with repaying close to half a trillion euros in emergency loans on Thursday.
The Federal Reserve is expected to renew its promise to hold benchmark interest rates exceptionally low for an extended period on Wednesday and may acknowledge a slight slowdown in the pace of U.S. economic recovery.
Benchmark bank-to-bank euro lending costs edged higher on Tuesday as demand for funds increased before the quarter end and the expiry of the European Central Bank's 442 billion euro one-year refinancing operation.
Oil rose above $77 on Wednesday to reach the highest level since mid-May, tracking a recovery in global stock markets as risk appetite returns with easing concern about Europe's economy.
The U.S. Federal Reserve's exit from its ultra-low interest rate policy will take a significant period of time, a San Francisco Fed economist said in a paper published on Monday.
Europe's sovereign debt crisis has not pushed back the timing of a hike in the Federal Reserve's benchmark interest rate, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said on Monday. Bullard, a voting member of the Fed's rate-setting panel, also said that U.S. inflation is contained now but could become a risk in the midterm due to the large U.S. budget deficit and the Fed's ultra-easy monetary policy.
The European Central Bank will maintain its bond-buying program until financial markets stabilize, ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny told Japan's Nikkei newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.
Chinese inflation quickened to a 19-month high in May, but a moderation of growth in factory production and capital spending could further ease worries that the world's third-largest economy runs the risk of boiling over.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday the U.S. economic recovery was on a solid footing but cautioned it could be years before the jobs lost during the deep recession of 2008-2009 are restored.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday the U.S. economic recovery was on a solid footing but cautioned it could be years before the jobs lost during the deep recession of 2008-2009 are restored.
The following are highlights from a House of Representatives Budget Committee hearing on Wednesday with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifying. For text of prepared testimony, click on
A top Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday high unemployment and low inflation justify holding benchmark interest rates ultra-low for quite some time but European debt woes are unlikely to derail the U.S. economic recovery.
A top U.S. Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday high unemployment and low inflation justify holding benchmark interest rates ultra-low for quite some time but European debt woes are unlikely to derail the U.S. economic recovery.
A top Federal Reserve Official said on Thursday the U.S. central bank should raise rates to 1 percent by the end of the summer to avoid having to raise borrowing costs abruptly as the economic recovery gains momentum.
Lending to small businesses is declining, making it more difficult to counter the persistent problem of high unemployment, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.
The Bank of Japan may lend at least 1 trillion yen ($11 billion) to commercial banks under a new loan program to support industries with growth potential that was outlined last month, the Asahi newspaper said on Wednesday.
European Central Bank policymaker Axel Weber on Monday urged a tight cap on the bank's government bond buying program, saying extraordinary steps taken to ease the debt crisis posed a risk to its main goal of price stability.
A Federal Reserve policymaker warned that the central bank's vow to keep rates unusually low for a long time could, if misread, perpetuate the boom and bust cycle that plunged the United States and the world into recession.
The Federal Reserve's promise to hold interest rates ultra low for an extended period depends on economic conditions and could change if the recovery picks up, central bankers said on Thursday.
Global policymakers cobbled together an emergency rescue package worth about $1 trillion to stabilize world financial markets and resolve the Greek debt crisis that threatened to sink the euro and unravel euro-zone unity.
Global policymakers unleashed an emergency rescue package worth about $1 trillion to stabilize world financial markets and prevent the Greek debt crisis from destroying the euro currency.
The European Central Bank did not discuss buying government bonds in its policy meeting on Thursday, its head said, and he gave no indication the bank planned to introduce additional measures to boost lending.
