The News / Hottest

The total number of building permits issued in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 3.1 percent on month in February, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, standing at 13,371.

More...

Retail sales in February jumped a seasonally adjusted1.3 percent on month in February, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, coming in at A$21.949 billion.

More...

The Bank of Japan will on Thursday conclude its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The BoJ is widely expected to keep rates on hold at 3.00 percent.

More...

The Bank of Japan launched an aggressive monetary easing program on Thursday, as newly appointed Governor Haruhiko Kuroda began his campaign to reverse 15 years of deflation which has been a drag on the economy. Concluding the two-day monetary policy meeting today, the policy board said the BoJ will double the monetary base and its holdings of Japanese Government Bonds and exchange-traded funds.

More...

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled on Thursday that the bank is set to maintain low interest rates in coming months as the economic weakness in the euro area has extended into the early part of the year. "A gradual recovery is projected for the second half of this year, subject to downside risks," Draghi said.

More...

Offsetting the recent downward trend, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose for the third consecutive week in the week ended March 30th. A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed that initial jobless claims rose to 385,000, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 357,000.

More...

Partly offsetting the recent downward trend, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose for the third consecutive week in the week ended March 30th.

More...

Despite clear signals that the 17-nation economy remained stuck in recession during the first quarter, the European Central Bank resisted an interest rate cut in April likely due to concerns over falling bank lending. The main refinancing rate was kept at 0.75 percent for the ninth straight month after the meeting of the Governing Council in Frankfurt on Thursday.

More...

The Bank of England decided not to lift its quantitative easing as policymakers were worried about above target-inflation even after the government allowed it to expand stimulus disregarding high inflation. At the regular two-day meeting, the nine-member committee decided maintained the quantitative easing at GBP 375 billion and the interest rate unchanged at 0.50 percent.

More...

The European Central Bank held its key interest rate at a record low for the ninth month in a row in April.

More...