The governor of the Bank of Canada says the central bank would have likely slashed its key interest rate in response to plunging oil prices, if that alone had been the only shock to the domestic economy. The cut might even have been to the current 0.25 per cent level it reached as the COVID-19 […]
The Bank of Canada is warning that the downturn tied to COVID-19 will be the worst on record and that the economic recovery will depend on the effectiveness of current measures to bring the pandemic under control. The pandemic has forced companies to close and workers to stay at home as much as possible in […]
The novel coronavirus has brought with it an unprecedented shuttering of the global economy and an equally unprecedented policy response. The speed and scale at which central bankers and politicians have moved has already surpassed anything seen during the credit crisis. On the monetary policy front, we have seen rates cut to zero, the announcement […]
The Bank of Canada cut its key interest target by half a percentage point to 0.25 per cent in an unscheduled rate announcement Friday. The central bank said its decision to lower rates is aimed at cushioning the economic shocks from COVID-19 and a sharp drop in oil prices by easing the cost of borrowing. […]
The Federal Reserve took massive emergency action Sunday to try to help the economy withstand the coronavirus by slashing its benchmark interest rate to near zero and saying it would buy $700 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds. The Fed’s surprise announcement signalled its rising concern that the viral outbreak will depress economic growth in […]
The Bank of Canada is cutting its overnight rate target by half a percentage point to 0.75 per cent in response to COVID-19. The central bank said Friday the unscheduled rate decision was due to the pandemic and its impact on the economy, adding that lower oil prices, even since its last scheduled rate decision […]
After a week that saw coronavirus worries wallop equity markets into correction territory, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a 0.5 per cent rate cut on Tuesday morning. Following suit, the Bank of Canada cut its target for the overnight rate by 50 basis points on Wednesday, bringing it to 1.25 per cent. For the Fed, […]
In a surprise move, the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by a sizeable half-percentage point Tuesday in an effort to support the economy in the face of the spreading coronavirus. Chairman Jerome Powell said at a news conference that the virus “will surely weigh on economic activity both here and abroad for some […]
The fast-moving coronavirus isn’t just confounding health officials. It’s also bedevilling policymakers and central bankers who are struggling to assess the economic damage from an outbreak that’s reached 37 countries and territories, infected 80,000 people and killed 2,700 worldwide. They don’t know where or how fast the virus will spread. They can’t draw on clear […]
Central banks’ actions have gone too far and they’re running out of tools in their toolbox, according to Erik Weisman, chief economist at MFS Investment Management. When interest rates are pushed to zero or into negative territory, people are deciding to save more instead of spending money on which they’re not earning interest, he says. […]