Central Bank Watch
Pause Continues in Canadian Monetary Policy
December 4, 2012
Monetary officials decided to leave their interest rate structure unchanged after the last scheduled policy meeting of 2012, thereby extended a pause in tightening that dates back to the last rate hike in September 2010. A released statement today reads very similarly to the previous one from October 23. The final summary and concluding paragraph […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Investor Hope in a Time of Uncertainty
December 4, 2012
The downside risks are formidable. Global growth slowed this quarter. The U.S. fiscal negotiations remain stalemated. The European recession persists, and finance ministers from the EU are meeting yet again today in Brussels. Nonetheless, yesterday’s hopeful mood among investors has persisted. The dollar has fallen 0.5% against the Australian and New Zealand dollars, 0.4% relative […] More
Central Bank Watch
Reserve Bank of Australia Cuts Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 Basis Points
December 4, 2012
At 3.0%, Australia’s OCR has now dropped 175 basis points since November 2011, fully erasing all of the post-Great Recession tightening. The decision to enact a further reduction in December had been expected. There had been in fact some speculation that the OCR might be slashed by 50 bps as was done in May. Subsequent […] More