We expect December to be another active month for the foreign exchange market as central banks around the world take their interest rates to historically significant levels. There are 4 central banks ...

ECB monthly report echoes Trichet's statement last week with the editorial stressing saying that the crisis is likely to damp demand for a "rather protracted period". It also called on the banking sec...

The ECB releases the data that backs the bank’s decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points, to 3.25% at the meeting held one week ago. Usually, the market has a weak response to this release, s...

We think there are at least three reasons why the ECB did not implement a bolder rate cut today. First of all, it appears at least some at the ECB still harbour residual concerns about the inflation o...

A year ago, many economists and traders believed the US financial crisis would stay within the boarders of the world's largest economy and other countries would be immune to the economic consequences....

As expected the ECB today lowered the policy rate rates by 50 bp to 3.25%. In the statement the tone was clearly softer on inflation. Also the tone on activity was soft. They did not reintroduce their...

The Bank of England this morning shocked the markets by cutting interest rates by 1.50 percentage points to 3.00%. Consensus forecasts were for 50bps, the high was 100bps, and financial markets were p...

Mr. Trichet appeared more bearish than usual over the Euro-area economy, especially as the financial crisis is affecting the real economy. In the bank’s words, the HICP is expected to come down in the...

The ECB had been projected to cut rates by 50 basis points and did so. But the move was only a third as forceful as the Bank of England's and in that context appears to timid. A 75-basis point cut was...

It is the morning for rate cuts with the European Central Bank, Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank all cutting interest rates. On a day when the Bank of England shocked the markets with a 150...

The ECB has cut the Minimum Bid Rate by 50 basis points, down to 3.25%, as was forecast. The market will now shift its focus to Mr. Trichet’s press conference, which starts approximately 45 minutes af...

The biggest event risk this week for the Euro is the European Central Bank interest rate decision. Weak economic data and softer inflationary pressures will force the ECB to take interest rates below ...

Unlike the Bank of England, I do not expect ECB officials to cut rates by more than 50 basis points, but they probably should. At a prescheduled meeting on October 2nd, ECB key rates were left unchang...

Since its birth in 1999, the ECB has followed a cautious policy of gradual interest rate changes. This approach was intended to foster credibility. It also helped the institution find a consensus whic...

With the ECB and BoE policy rate meetings this Thursday, there are a number of conflicting signals as to what each should do. While certainly not claiming to be any more omniscient than any other fore...

The ECB is facing several of its risk scenarios. The outlook for growth has deteriorated markedly and the inflation outlook is increasingly favourable. We expect it to respond with a 50 bp lowering of...

Thursday will be a busy day for central bank watchers: We have pencilled in rate cuts from the Bank of England (BoE), the European Central Bank (ECB) - each of 50bp - and we expect Danmarks Nationalba...

The European Central Bank is widely expected to lower the benchmark interest rate by 50bp to 3.25% from 3.75% following the coordinated rate cut on October 8th. ECB President Trichet joined Fed Chairm...

We have changed our interest rate projection for the ECB. We are now looking for it to lower the key lending rate by 50 bp in November 2008 and by a further 25 bp in each of January, March and June 20...

The Federal Reserve has taken extreme measures over the past week in conjunction with the US Treasury, FDIC, and central banks around the world including the European Central Bank and Bank of England ...

Early this morning, in an unprecedented effort to re-start the interbank lending markets, the Federal Reserve in conjunction with the BoE, ECB, SNB and BoJ announced an extraordinary, unlimited liquid...

As part of the coordinated actions of central banks, the Bank of England this morning reduced the Bank Rate by half a percentage point to 4.50%. This move comes just a day before their regularly sched...

The Federal Reserve and central banks around the world, including the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Swedish Riksbank each cut their main policy rate by 50 basi...

In a surprise decision, central banks in the industrialized world announced a coordinated half percentage point easing in monetary policy this morning. The message from all of the central banks was lo...

We have been literally begging the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England to work together to stem the bleed in equities and they have finally done it. For the first time s...

The FOMC surprised the markets by taking a preemptive approach in lowering borrowing costs, and cut 50bp to lower the benchmark interest rate to 1.50% from 2.00% early this morning. Furthermore, the E...

Rate cuts of 50 basis points were announced at 11:00 GMT jointly by the Fed, ECB, Bank of England (which will not meet tomorrow as scheduled), Swedish Riksbank, and Bank of Canada. The new benchmark r...

Just a few hours agowe wrote, "Overall however, the situation in global capital markets remains tense. We doubt that US equity markets will stabilize without additional policy initiatives from the Fed...

The US Federal Reserve along with the Bank of Canada, Bank of England, the European Central Bank, Sweden Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank acted in concert to reduce short term lending rates in pre...

In a coordinated action, the Fed, ECB, Bank of England, Bank of Canada, Swiss National Bank and Sveriges Riksbank (Swedish National Bank) cut the overnight lending rate by 50 basis points in response ...

Jean Claude Trichet's monthly press conference took on much greater significance than usual today. Markets looked for some indication that the ECB appreciated both the scale of the unfolding market tu...

The European Central Bank left the main policy rate unchanged this morning at 4.25 per cent. However, while the current rate of inflation of 3.6 per cent remains higher than desired, for the first tim...

The ECB left leading interest rates unchanged but is preparing for a rate cut. At the press conference they softened the tone on economic growth and stressed the downward risk to growth stemming from ...

ECB President Jean- Claude Trichet said during the press conference which followed today's decision to hold interest rates at 4.25% that the financial market turmoil is weakening economic growth and i...

The European Central Bank President has finally buckled under the weight of bank failures, recessions and slower global growth. Although the ECB left interest rates unchanged at 4.25 percent this morn...

The new statement from the ECB Governing Council constitutes a start in preparing markets for a rate cut. This is what investors and analysts were hoping and expecting to see. Typically the ECB's tone...

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank kept rates unchanged at 4.25 percent as widely expected. Yet, Jean-Claude Trichet acknowledged that recent economic data points towards a sharp contr...

This week the euro sold off against 11 of the world's top 16 currencies by trading volume on speculation the ECB will have to lower interest rates to prevent the region from falling into a recession. ...

Policy officials and traders are quickly coming to the realization that the Euro Zone is heading towards a recession and financial crisis of its own. Confirming the bearish economic outlook, GDP contr...

We expect the ECB to leave rates unchanged but enter a transition phase towards an easing bias. We expect a softer tone as the Council is becoming increasingly nervous about the economic situation. Th...

The European Central Bank is anticipated to hold the benchmark interest rate steady at 4.25% as President Trichet remains focused on the banks one and only mandate to ensure price stability throughout...

During its September ECB press conference, president Trichet commented that the ECB is keen to keep its policy options open, but he also suggested no early change in rates in either direction is likel...

We have changed our interest rate projections for the ECB. We are now looking for the ECB to lower the leading rates by 25 bp in December 2008 and by a further 25 bp in both February and April 2009. P...

The ECB Governing Council meets this Thursday. Officials have not hinted that a rate cut might be made, so such a move would be a huge surprise to a market that expects to be forewarned ahead of ECB p...

Over the summer, the growth outlook for the euro zone economy deteriorated quite dramatically. It became clear that the US economic slowdown wouldn't remain contained in the 'States, but would also hu...

US interest rates and rate expectations fell sharply from mid-2007 through early 2008, but the term structure on the US dollar yield curve clearly shows markets expect much more through the coming two...

While there was never any serious doubt that the European Central Bank would leave its key policy rate unchanged at 4.25% yesterday, markets were not quite sure what message ECB President Jean Claude ...

For the second month in a row, the ECB left rates unchanged at 4.25%. The predominant concern of the Governing Council (GC) remains the risk that past sharp increases in food and energy prices, and th...

The ECB held leading interest rates unchanged and made a fairly neutral statement at today's press conference. That said Mr Trichet did make a few remarks which were less hawkish than expected by mark...

The ECB appears to be more uncertain about the overall outlook than at any time in recent memory. During the press conference, Mr. Trichet said, "upside risks to price stability prevail," before addin...