(Reuters) – U.S. companies borrowed nearly 8% less in April than last year to finance equipment investments, industry body Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) said on Wednesday. The companies signed up for new loans, leases and lines of credit worth $9.7 billion last month, compared with $10.5 billion a year earlier. “It is not …
US business borrowing for equipment falls 8% in April- ELFA survey Read More »
By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand’s central bank on Wednesday signalled it was done tightening after raising rates by 25 basis points to the highest in more than 14 years at 5.5%, ending its most aggressive hiking cycle since 1999. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ) indication the official cash rate (OCR) would …
NZ central bank signals done raising rates after hiking to 14-year high Read More »
By Mike Dolan LONDON (Reuters) – Hype or hope, this year’s boom in artificial intelligence along with other productivity-enhancing tech developments may be one of few ways to sustain an increasingly fragile “global balance sheet” over coming decades. There is little doubt about the market heat, corporate alarm and social anxieties created in the mere …
Column-World balance sheet may need AI-style productivity leap: Mike Dolan Read More »
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan will weigh both inflation and economic growth when deciding on its next interest rate decision in June but the island’s economy may not rebound until the fourth quarter, central bank governor Yang Chin-long said on Wednesday. While Taiwan has followed major economies in raising interest rates to control inflation, it has done …
Taiwan central bank to weigh inflation, GDP in next rate move Read More »
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s finance ministry on Tuesday lifted its 2024 inflation forecast to 3.63%, from 3.52%, and kept its estimate for growth in Latin America’s largest economy unchanged at 2.3%. The country’s central bank has maintained its key interest rate at a six-year high of 13.75% at recent meetings to prevent a possible resurgence …
Brazil’s finance ministry lifts 2024 inflation estimate Read More »
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s Finance Minister Fernando Haddad on Tuesday said that the government’s new fiscal rules and a tax reform should calm investors and the central bank and that there is consensus on the urgency of approving both. After a closed-door meeting with government officials, congressional and business leaders, Haddad told reporters he expects …
Brazil finance minister says fiscal reforms will calm investors, central bank Read More »
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s headline inflation likely slowed in the first half of May to its lowest level in 19 months, a Reuters poll on Tuesday showed, backing views of a sustained decline in consumer prices and that the central bank will keep its benchmark rate on hold. The median forecast of 13 analysts …
Mexico headline inflation seen at its lowest level in over 1-1/2 years – Reuters poll Read More »
By Olena Harmash KYIV (Reuters) – An International Monetary Fund mission started work on Tuesday on the first review of a $15.6 billion loan program that it approved in March, the Ukrainian finance ministry said. The IMF’s four-year program for Ukraine is part of a $115-billion global package to support the country’s economy as it …
IMF mission starts review of Ukraine’s new loan program Read More »
By Steven Scheer and Ari Rabinovitch JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The Bank of Israel hiked benchmark interest rates to their highest level since 2006 on Monday, citing high inflation and a tight labour market, and said upcoming data would determine whether it raised them further. The central bank lifted the key rate for the 10th policy …
Bank of Israel hikes key rate as weak shekel keeps inflation high Read More »
By Michael S. Derby NEW YORK (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari cautioned that while it may appear like the worst of the banking sector’s stresses are over, history showed more trouble can’t be ruled out. “It’s far too soon to declare all-clear” and say that actions by the Fed, Treasury …
Fed’s Kashkari cautions against all-clear on banking woes Read More »
