Sweden’s central bank has ended a five-year experiment of keeping its benchmark interest rate below zero, a policy that other countries have also adopted to try to improve economic growth. The country’s central bank, called the Riksbank, said Thursday it had decided to raise its benchmark interest rate to zero from -0.25 per cent, where […]
The Federal Reserve is expected to send a clear message when its latest policy meeting ends Wednesday: Interest rates will likely stay ultra-low for the foreseeable future. Behind that message is a view that has gained support at the Fed as the U.S. economic expansion has entered a record 11th year: That contrary to long-standing […]
The Canadian economy remains resilient despite the global uncertainty caused by the trade war between the United States and China, a senior Bank of Canada official said Thursday. In a speech to the Ottawa Board of Trade, deputy governor Timothy Lane said inflation in Canada remains on target and a strong job market points to […]
The Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate on hold Wednesday, leaving the country as an exception compared to other advanced economies that have begun to respond to a weakening global economy. In its explanation, the central bank argued that inflation is on target and the domestic economy has held up well in many […]
The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for the third time this year to try to sustain the economic expansion in the face of global threats. But it indicated that it won’t cut again in the coming months unless the economic outlook worsens. The Fed’s move reduces the short-term rate it controls, which […]
A lot of ink has poured into the discussion of an inverted yield curve, and what it means, yet I am still unsure if people understand whether an inverted yield curve is a precursor of a recession or not. The fear of an inverted yield curve relates to historical evidence, which shows that an inverted […]
With the U.S. Federal Reserve scheduled to announce its latest rate decision on Wednesday, what can institutional investors expect? Rob Almeida, global investment strategist at MFS Investment Management, says he expects a 25-basis point cut. “I think anything different from that would be a surprise to the market.” Since the last cut the data has […]
The European Central Bank on Thursday delivered a new blast of monetary stimulus to help the economy in the face of uncertainties like the U.S.-China trade conflict and Brexit. The central bank for the 19 countries that use the euro cut the rate on deposits it takes from banks to minus 0.5 per cent from […]
The Bank of Canada is holding steady on interest rates as it gauges the extent of the damage that deepening trade conflicts have had on the domestic and global economies. The rate decision Wednesday, which was widely expected, kept the central bank’s overnight rate at 1.75 per cent and followed a solid second-quarter rebound for […]
Danish pension fund, the ATP Group, posted an eye-popping 26.9 per cent net return for its return-seeking investment portfolio in the first half of 2019. This compares to a net return of 2.7 per cent that the fund saw for the first half of 2018 and a negative net return of 3.2 per cent for […]