The Federal Reserve on Wednesday voiced growing optimism on the U.S. economy as job losses slow, but repeated a vow to keep interest rates unusually low for "an extended period." In a unanimous decision, the U.S. central bank left benchmark overnight rates on hold in a zero to 0.25 percent range, as widely expected. Underscoring
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The dollar surged broadly and hit a three-month high against the euro on Thursday on short-covering ahead of the year-end, while Asian stocks and other risky assets inched lower. There was limited reaction to the Federal Reserve's post-meeting statement on Wednesday, in which the U.S. central bank voiced optimism about a stabilising economy. The Fed
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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is likely to pass the first hurdle in winning Senate confirmation to serve another term on Thursday but will face unusually strong opposition as his nomination moves ahead. The Senate Banking Committee is expected to recommend his confirmation to the full Senate, which is is not expected to vote on
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Bank of Cyprus announced that it has acquired 102.862.785 shares representing a 9.7% interest in Banca Transilvania’s share capital with a total acquisition cost of EUR58 mln. The transaction does not have a material impact on the capital adequacy and financial fundamentals of the Bank of Cyprus Group. Bank of Cyprus proceeded with this transaction
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Britain's FTSE index of leading shares will claw back more losses next year from the financial crisis as the economy makes a stuttering recovery and firms return to profit, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday. The quarterly poll of around 20 strategists, taken over the past week, gave median forecasts for the FTSE 100 to
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New U.S. home construction rose less than expected last month, while consumer prices increased marginally, suggesting little urgency for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner as the economy steadily recovers. The reports on Wednesday came after a series of relatively strong data, including a sharp rise in prices at the producer level, that
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The U.S. current account deficit widened as expected in the third quarter to $108 billion, largely driven by a big trade shortfall, a Commerce Department report showed on Wednesday. The deficit rose from a downwardly revised $98 billion in the second quarter and was in line with analysts' forecasts for a third quarter shortfall of
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After more than three centuries, the humble cheque could become a historic relic if British banks, as expected, vote to phase it out in favour of more modern payment methods. The board of the UK Payments Council, the body for setting payment strategy in Britain, was meeting on Wednesday to discuss whether to set a
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The future path of quantitative easing should be guided by the amount of slack in the British economy, which is currently "very substantial", Bank of England policymaker David Miles said on Wednesday. The BoE, which expanded its asset purchase scheme by 25 billion pounds to 200 billion pounds in November but refrained from a further
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Greece is not discussing a bailout with other European Union countries, Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said on Tuesday, when financial markets gave his emergency deficit-cutting plan a thumbs down. Speaking following a meeting with his French counterpart in Paris, Papaconstantinou also said his country was doing everything necessary to reduce its public deficit. "There
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