9 :Euro zone ministers to discuss euro on Monday:04/01/19 22:37 ID:4+B7UxxO
BRUSSELS, Jan 19 (Reuters) - A meeting of finance ministers from the 12-nation euro zone on Monday will include discussions about the euro, a spokesman for the European Commission said.
Spokesman Gerassimos Thomas said the Eurogroup would also discuss the ministers' position ahead of the Group of Seven meeting in Florida next month.
"I think there will be a discussion on recent movements in the rates of the euro, that is part of any economic analysis and also the preparation of the G7 will be done in the Eurogroup as well," Thomas told a daily briefing.
He said the language of the ministers and of the European Central Bank on the exchange rate had changed since the start of the year and was focussing on dangers linked to volatility and its impact on the macroeconomic situation.
10 :Dollar fall could derail recovery-UK MPs committee:04/01/21 16:16 ID:MRq8MuY1
The U.S. dollar's slide in recent months could derail the global economic recovery, an influential British parliamentary committee warned on Wednesday.
"The Committee is particularly worried that the recent fall in the dollar may jeopordise global recovery prospects," the report said, adding that some of the evidence on this subject had been reassuring.
"For the future, it is vital that UK economic policy adapts as anticipated to the upswing in the global economy, to avoid potential problems flowing from the current imbalances," the report said.
On Brown's switch of the Bank of England's inflation target to 2.0 percent on a harmonised European measure from the old 2.5 percent RPIX goal, the Committee noted that BoE Governor Mervyn King said it should make little difference to monetary policy.
"This was particularly important given the new target measure of inflation, the implications of which were best explored in the context of the next Inflation Report, which would be the first to contain projections for the CPI," the minutes said.
17 :Rates will rise as economy picks up:04/02/01 06:31 ID:YVTHl+gl
Interest rates will have to rise gradually if the economy runs in line with the government's economic forecast in November, a senior Bank of England official has said.
"The recent position here has been that if the economy proceeds along the path implied by our November 2003 Inflation Report projections, the MPC's repo rate will need gradually to rise to keep inflation in line with the target," said Paul Tucker, one of nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee.
"I would expect us to reduce the degree of stimulus to demand broadly in line with reductions in spare capacity in the economy and any consequent increases in inflationary pressures looking ahead," Tucker said.
As a consequence, should investors become significantly more doubtful that the Congress will take the necessary fiscal measures, an appreciable backup in long-term interest rates is possible as prospects for outsized federal demands on national saving become more apparent,
Overall, the economy has made impressive gains in output and real incomes; however progress in creating jobs has been limited.
However, with inflation very low and substantial slack in the economy, the Federal Reserve can be patient in removing its current policy accommodation,
I think there are far greater risks in failure on the tax side than there is on the expenditure side -- and I'm not talking about cutting expenditures, I'm talking about slowing down the rate of increase.
My impression is, however, that that backlog of unexploited inefficiencies is probably running out, If so, we will fall back to a more normal level of productivity growth and if that happens then a number not terribly different from what the administration is forecasting is a likely one.
Speaking after French and German calls for the ECB to lower rates, Garganas said the euro zone would continue to grow without a cut, the newspaper reported on Friday.
"(It) should fall below two percent in (the) second half of the year and stay there," he said. "Monetary policy ... is appropriate, there has been nothing to change."
303 名前:Trader@Live![] 投稿日:04/02/28 03:15 ID:7a2QmfR7 Schroeder says he told Bush the weak EUR is worrying and that Bush replied that he is interested in a strong dollar. In the last administration we had to ask ourselves what the meaning of "is" is. In this one, we have to ask ourselves the meaning of "strong". Schroeder and Bush likely have divergent vocabularies on the subject.
48 :Trichet May Ignore Rate-Cut Demands at ECB Meets:04/03/02 06:19 ID:If38xncR
European Central Bank President Jean- Claude Trichet may be running out of reasons not to cut interest rates as inflation dwindles and the euro's appreciation threatens an economic recovery, according to economists including University of Wuerzburg professor Peter Bofinger.
Greenspan Says Dollar's Drop Will Help `Contain' Current Account Deficit
The dollar's recent depreciation should help ``contain'' the current account deficit as financial markets smooth the adjustment and reduce the risk of a crisis, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Friday any changes to the European Union's treaties on the Stability and Growth Pact would be inappropriate.
"We would certainly not consider appropriate a change of the treaty and we do not consider as appropriate a change of the secondary legislation which is the makeup of the Stability and Growth Pact," he told a joint news conference with Bank of France boss Christian Noyer at a seminar in Paris.
"We agree on the fact that the implementation of this treaty and secondary legislation can be improved," he added.
Bundesbank President and European Central Bank governing council member Ernst Welteke appeared to nudge open the door to a possible cut in eurozone interest rates by saying there were more downside than upside risks to economic recovery.
"The downward risks are certainly greater than the upside risks for economic recovery in Europe and Germany," the German central bank chief told journalists here Thursday.
The comments could arguably be seen as opening the door to a possible reduction in eurozone interest rates because they contradicted the ECB's official line -- and one repeated in the bank's latest monthly report on Thursday -- that the risks to the recovery scenario are "broadly balanced". .
The European Central Bank said that the strong euro and the low level of interest rates meant it made a net loss last year.
"This loss was due primarily to the evolution of exchange rates, which adversely affected the value, expressed in euro, of the banks holdings of US dollar-denominated assets, but also to lower domestic and foreign interest rates," the bank explained.
Bank of England Deputy Governor Sir Andrew Large says he is conscious of record consumer debt levels when setting interest rates as they raise the risk of a sharp slowdown in demand.
Large said on Tuesday a slump was not the most likely outcome but high debt levels nevertheless posed a "credible" threat to the economy which could increase over time and this explained why he had voted for rate rises several times over the past few months.
"In particular the possibility that the potential vulnerabilities stemming from higher debt levels do in fact crystallise at some point and trigger a sharp demand slowdown that could have an adverse impact on monetary stability."
Interest rate futures fell on the remarks as dealers bet that Large was hinting at another rise in borrowing costs next month.
Large said that from a macro-economic point of view, the increase in spending financed by debt has been a "acceptable imbalance" to keep the economy growing.
ECB President, Jean-Claude Trichet told German business newspaper Handelsblatt late on Tuesday the ECB would reassess its outlook for gradual euro zone recovery if consumer spending fails to pick up. His comment and others by ECB members increased market speculation that the ECB could cut interest rates, perhaps as soon as April.
ECB council member Guy Quaden said in an interview with French newspaper Le Monde the bank has some room for maneuver if needed even though its official 2 percent rate is "extremely low."
German Economy Minister Wolfgang Clement said earlier high real interest rates and the strong euro were holding back German economic growth.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan will not give scheduled introductory remarks at a Fed conference in Washington because of a cold, a spokesman said on Friday.
The Fed chairman had been due to introduce a conference on "Models and Monetary Policy" at 9 a.m.
A Fed spokeswoman, speaking about an hour after the rumor first roiled financial markets, said there was no truth to the rumor and that Greenspan was "fine"
The Bank of England does not have to raise interest rates straight away to curb inflation, a Monetary Policy Committee member says, even as more signs emerge that the housing boom is rolling on.
Lehman Brothers said in a research note: "Our economists remain firm in their belief that the ECB will cut rates in June. The re-pricing of the front end could be overdone."
ECB's Issing says euro zone outlook remains intact
Issing referred to the ECB's December economic forecast which pointed to gradually improving growth this year to bring the euro zone close to its potential growth rate towards the end of the year.
He said growth in the second half 2003 was "not great but better than before".
Issing also said there was up to now no clear sign that the Madrid train bombings last month had had an impact on economic developments.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Wednesday extra-low interest rates "must rise at some point" now that the economy is hitting its stride, an assessment reinforcing some economists' beliefs that rates will climb this summer.
The ECB president said he still expected a gradual recovery in the eurozone economy despite recent mixed data.
Trichet's comments lessened talk that the ECB might be forced to lower interest rates to encourage growth.
"The evidence available continues to indicate that the moderate recovery of euro-area real GDP growth that started in the second half of 2003 has continued in 2004," Trichet told the European parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee.
On Tuesday, Greenspan and fellow policymakers indicated the days of rock-bottom rates -- with the federal funds target rate at a 1958 low of 1.0 percent for the past 10 months -- were numbered.
Rates could eventually rise at a "measured" pace, they said.
87 :Federal Reserve official says US inflation risks manageable:04/05/19 17:54 ID:Q/wa6kKI
US Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond president Alfred Broaddus said the risk of rising inflation was growing but still manageable.
"I am not dismissing the risk of an unwelcome further increase in inflation," Broaddus told bankers in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, according to a copy of his speech released here.
"Given what we know now, there is no question that this risk is greater now than it was as recently as three months ago," he said.
Q: We heard Alan Greenspan talk about how interest rates will go up. How will this affect investors?
A: When the sheik of currency talks, things move. Interest rates were going to rise but they didn’t do a thing and the bond market fell. Bonds and interest rates have a reverse relationship. So if you have bonds that are in a long-term situation like a long term bond mutual fund, you may be at risk. Now listen, if you’re in CDs or a money market fund, good news. But if you’re in a long term bond fund, look out.
Q: So what’s a guy to do if that’s the case?
A: Call your broker and ask for the average maturity of the portfolio. If the average maturity of your portfolio is greater than about two years, I'd move to a shorter maturity - your yield will drop - but you will be in a greater risk of your principle.
Q: Any other tips?
A: Keep your CDs under a year and it may be a good time to refinance if you have a rate of 7 percent or more and 25 years to go - now would be the time but don't refinance for less than 1 percent - the cost isn't worth it. Don't chase the refinance bug and for goodness sakes, don't cash out of equity and pay for lifestyle credit/debt. That should be managed with discipline, not band-aids.
98 :Greenspan seeks to soothe fear of interest rate shock:04/06/16 09:54 ID:h6L/W21g
Greenspan, speaking ahead of a near-certain rise in key short-term interest rates on June 30, warned that central bank policymakers would move more aggressively, however, if prices got out of control.
"Although inflation has picked up so far this year, it remains moderate," he said, adding that this supports the view that the Fed would act in a "measured" way -- interpreted by Wall Street as a quarter-point increment.
The market is awaiting the statement to Wednesday's expected quarter point rate hike from the Federal Open Market Committee to see how borrowing costs are likely to increase in the US over the coming few months from their current 46-year lows of 1.00 pct.
Though expectations of a half-point hike have been reduced, the market will be looking closely at the Fed's accompanying statements for clues on future interest rate hikes.
Some analysts think the dollar may come under some pressure if the Fed says it believes that the risks to growth and price stability are neutral, in line with the market's interest rate expectations.
Meanwhile, the yen bounced back against the dollar, having fallen earlier in the wake of disappointing Japanese retail sales data, which showed a 2.5 pct fall in May.
Renewed expectations that the Bank of Japan may intervene to weaken the Japanese currency had also weighed on yen sentiment.
ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet, said that for the moment the ECB saw no need for an upward movement on this side of the Atlantic, with economic growth in the eurozone still sluggish and inflation largely under control, despite the recent rise in oil prices.
He was referring to yesterday's decision by the Fed in the US to lift its key rates by a quarter of a percentage point to keep a lid on inflation.
The ECB had not been expected to follow the Fed's lead.
According to Trichet, the ECB and the Fed were faced "with different economic fundamentals".
He added that the ECB was not influenced by interest-rate decisions by other central banks, such as the Fed or the Bank of England.
Nevertheless, he said that the ECB would "remain vigilant" with regard to possible risks to price stability.
105 :BoE leaves rates on hold:04/07/11 10:35 ID:efWD5uav
The Bank of England has kept interest rates at 4.5 percent, in line with market expectations, but most economists believe a hike is now likely next month as the Bank seeks to pre-empt rising inflation.
BoE Governor Mervyn King has been surprisingly candid in recent weeks, warning in a number of speeches and interviews last month that the chance of a fall in house prices had increased.
"When people take out very large mortgages, particularly young people coming in as first time buyers with a view to stretching themselves to the limit in the belief that house prices will always go up to bail them out -- then that's a slightly risky assumption to make," King said.
Bank of France governor Christian Noyer said that the European Central Bank's interest rates are appropriate, but that financial markets should not expect them to remain low forever.
Noyer told Handelsblatt newspaper, in an interview to be published Tuesday, that he is convinced the ECB's key interest rate level of 2.0 percent is appropriate for the maintenance of price stability in the eurozone.
He said the ECB would naturally react if inflation risks emerged.
Greenspan's formal text repeated a message he gave on Tuesday to the Senate Banking Committee -- the U.S. economy is in a sustainable expansion that no longer requires the hefty monetary stimulus the Fed put in place through a string of interest-rate cuts.
"With the growth of aggregate demand looking more sustainable and with employment expanding broadly, the considerable monetary accommodation put in place starting in 2001 is becoming increasingly unnecessary," the Fed chief said.
Greenspan reiterated that Fed policy-makers believe the process of bringing rates up to a more normal level from the 1958 low of 1 percent reached a year ago would likely proceed at a "measured" pace -- language markets widely interpret as meaning a series of quarter-point moves.
However, he warned that a "less gradual" approach could be needed if price pressures build faster than the Fed expects.
Greenspan said a slowdown in economic activity last month, along with a pickup earlier this year in core inflation excluding food and energy prices, should prove fleeting.
The yen hit a four-week high against the dollar on Friday as stronger than expected Japanese services sector data raised optimism about the world's second biggest economy.
The tertiary sector index -- a yardstick for the broadly defined services economy -- rose 0.8 percent in June from a month ago, compared with a forecast for a 0.5 percent rise.
But the yen's gains were limited and other currencies held broadly steady as investors paused to assess how soaring oil prices - which hit another record high on Friday - would influence the world's major economies.
"This is very important data and is consistent with Japan's ongoing recovery. Obviously this is just one month so needs to be confirmed later, but this is why the yen is doing well today," said Steven Saywell, senior currency strategist at Citibank.
"There is a cyclical recovery story for Japan, but there are also concerns about oil prices."
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Friday urged Washington policymakers to consider reducing future Social Security and Medicare benefits, saying that the nation has probably promised more to upcoming retirees than the economy can realistically deliver.
"If we have promised more than our economy has the ability to deliver to retirees, . . . as I fear we may have, we must recalibrate our public programs so that pending retirees have time to adjust," Greenspan said in remarks to a conference here on the impact of global population changes. "If we delay, the adjustments could be abrupt and painful."
Eurozone government bond yields rose on comments by Otmar Issing, president of the European central bank, that the bank was watching oil prices with concern.
In an interview with the German weekly Die Welt, published on Monday, Mr Issing said the bank would raise interest rates “forcefully” if the increase in the oil price created inflationary problems.
However, these comments did not appear to reflect a change of view since the ECB has been known to be more hawkish on interest rates than the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve for some time.
The yield on the two-year Schatz rose 3.5 basis points to 2.6 per cent while the 10-year Bund rose 2bp to 4.083 per cent.
In addition to the central banker’s comments, a sharp rise in the British producer price index put upward pressure on yields in the UK government bond market.
The index, which measures core changes excluding food, drink, tobacco and petroleum product, rose 0.5 per cent in August.
This was the sharpest monthly increase since July 1995 and five times the rate that had been expected
116 :Economists Expect Another Rate Increase:04/09/29 10:17:14 ID:LFBsm749
Economists said the Fed needs to move rates slowly upward from extraordinarily low levels to more normal levels so that should the economy begin growing too fast or inflation appear to pose a problem, the Fed won't have to ratchet up rates rapidly and disrupt Wall Street and Main Street.
"The economy is neither roaring, nor stalling; it's clearly out of the soft patch and moving along at a decent pace, and that's all the Fed needs right now," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at MFC Global Investment Management.
Analysts believe the funds rate will rise to 2 percent by the end of this year. Some believe the Fed will boost rates again on Nov. 10, then stand pat Dec. 14 at its last meeting of the year. Others believe the Fed might take a breather at the November meeting but raise rates in December.
"When we get to around 2 percent, the Fed may well pause for a little bit and see how conditions look," said Richard Rippe, chief economist at Prudential Equity Group LLC. "But if we get pretty good economic growth next year, the Fed will continue to move rates up."
Some analysts foresee the funds rate rising to 3 percent or to 4 percent by the end of 2005, depending on what data at the time say about economic growth and inflation.
117 :Bank pulls no surprises as it holds interest rates again:04/10/11 10:12:46 ID:nsb4aAI3
THE Bank of England held its key lending rate at 4.75 per cent for the second month running yesterday, prompting analysts' Advertisement speculation that the cost of borrowing will not rise again this year.
The European Central Bank, which also reviewed its interest rate yesterday, left it unchanged at 2 per cent. The US Federal Reserve has increased its rate three times this year to 1.75 per cent, but neither the ECB nor the Bank of Japan has raised rates in the past four years.
Jeremy Peat, chief economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland, said: "This must have been another wholly non-controversial MPC meeting. I would be surprised if anyone even bothered seriously to argue the case for a rate rise. The distinct majority of recent data, domestically and internationally, have been softer than expected.
"In the UK, industrial production has disappointed, while retail sales look to have sagged and the housing market appears headed for a soft landing. Inflation remains muted, with - despite rising oil prices - no hint as yet of any feed through to wider wage and price-setting behaviour.
"The key question for the MPC now is whether any further tightening is merited. We could well be at the peak, but one further increase, taking the rate to 5 per cent, cannot be ruled out."
Ian McCafferty, chief economic adviser to the CBI, said: "Rates are now likely to be close to their peak and the Bank should wait until things are much clearer before deciding if any further medicine is required."
Markets have increasingly priced in no more rate hikes this year after a run of weak data. Inflation in particular fell to just 1.1 percent in September and MPC member Kate Barker said last month the BoE was closer to the point where it would not be signalling continuing monetary tightening.
But BoE Governor Mervyn King then said last week that it was still too early to call the peak as the MPC had not yet made up its mind. He said policymakers had to balance weak economic data against the inflationary impact of a fall in the pound.
"The minutes of the MPC meeting will almost certainly be unanimous; the big question is whether the Bank talks about a rate hike," said George Buckley, UK economist at Deutsche Bank.
"We would be surprised if they do not. Discussion of a rate cut at this stage we believe would be premature."
Certainly, some MPC members were still mulling over arguments for a hike at their meeting in September, when rates were also held at 4.75 percent.
While there have been more signs of weakness in the economy since then -- manufacturing output fell for a third successive month -- the hawks could argue that the fall in sterling and the lowering of rate hike expectations had also eased monetary conditions.
The European Central Bank held the minimum bid rate for its regular refinancing operations steady at 2.00 percent, a spokesman for the bank said.
The Bank of England also left interest rates unchanged on Thursday for a third successive month amid speculation that borrowing costs may remain at 4.75 percent well into next year as the economy cools.
According to economists, the ECB will only start raising rates once it is sure that the economic recovery in the eurozone is firmly established.
A strong euro helps cushion the effects of runaway oil prices, since oil is purchased in dollars, and it also helps control headline inflation at a time when area-wide consumer prices are rising much faster than the ECB would like.
The governor of the Bank of Greece, Nicholas Garganas, said last week that the rise of the euro was unlikely to hurt European exports and could help mitigate the effects of surging oil prices.
The rice Secretary of State's IQ of a fibroid is 200. It is 91, and President Bush's IQ is also his father 97, and are an American in history one and the President with the lowest intelligence quotient. former President Clinton's IQ -- 182 -- it is -- President Bush -- exactly -- twice -- it was . Incidentally, IQ of a clever monkey also has the paper referred to as being 95.
Economists are predicting that the Federal Open Market Committee will increase the rate by one-quarter of a percentage point, to 2.25 percent, at its meeting Tuesday.
This rate affects many others: commercial banks' prime lending rate, which is used for short-term consumer and business loans; long-term mortgage rates; and rates on corporate bonds.
"Monetary policy works largely through indirect channels ? in particular ? by influencing private-sector expectations and thus long-term interest rates," one committee member, Ben Bernanke, said this month.
"Consequently, failing to communicate with the public ... only reduces the potency and predictability of the effects of given policy actions," he said.
The dollar hit fresh lows for a fourth-consecutive session on Tuesday following comments from European finance ministers that appeared to reinforce the view that the ECB will not intervene to slow the euro's rise.
Gerrit Zalm, Dutch finance minister, on Friday said the euro's rise was evolving "within acceptable margins". This appeared to crush speculation that the European Central Bank may act to stem the currency's rise as the dollar continued to weaken.
"Higher-than-expected inflation data, remarks by the (Fed) Chairman that were viewed as pointing to future rate increases, and the depreciation of the dollar all led market participants to price in a somewhat steeper path for future policy," the FOMC minutes said.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is comfortable with the current measured pace of U.S. interest rate hikes and does not favor a more aggressive policy, a report in the online version of BusinessWeek magazine said Friday.
The report noted that with the Fed's Feb 1-2 policy meeting fast approaching, investors were fretting that Greenspan and his central bank colleagues might want to junk their go-slow strategy of bite-size interest rate hikes in favor of something more aggressive.
"But those concerns don't seem to have fazed the man atop the Fed," said the report, written by Fed watcher Rich Miller. "Associates say the chairman has shown no signs of panic and appears content with the strategy of small, slow rate hikes -- one-quarter of a percentage point at each meeting."
"Indeed, with another quarter-point hike expected at the Feb. 1-2 meeting, short-term rates will be inching closer to levels where some Fed officials might even consider taking a break from their rate-hiking campaign," the BusinesWeek report said.
Minutes of the last Fed policy meeting in December showed some board members were growing concerned about inflation and some fretted about excessive risk-taking in financial markets, leading analysts to wonder if the Fed as a whole might decide to speed up its rate hikes.
However, recent comments from members have been more balanced, with many playing down the reaction to the minutes while expressing confidence that inflation will stay contained.
The European Central Bank is not yet preparing to raise its key interest rates, despite potential inflationary dangers, and the ECB is comfortable with the current euro-dollar exchange rate, Bank of Greece chief Nicholas Garganas told AFP.
"The current stance monetary policy is appropriate. Interest rates are at historically low levels," Garganas said in an interview Thursday at the ECB's Eurotower headquarters in Frankfurt.
"There are upside inflationary risks, including the evolution of oil and commodity prices," Garganas said.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan urged Congress to act on the "pressing" problem of the budget deficit, while endorsing the notion of private accounts in the social security pension system.
"Our budget position is unlikely to improve substantially in the coming years unless major deficit-reducing actions are taken," Greenspan told the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives.
"The combination of an aging population and the soaring costs of its medical care is certain to place enormous demands on our nation's resources and to exert pressure on the budget that economic growth alone is unlikely to eliminate," the central bank chief said.
"In my view, a retirement system with a significant personal accounts component would provide a more credible means of ensuring that the program actually adds to overall saving and, in turn, boosts the nation's capital stock," he said.
But he also argued that the Medicare program, the medical component of the social security system "is far more problematic" than the pension system and is more difficult to predict.
The European Central Bank has held its key rates steady but warned of rate rises in the pipeline
The ECB said it held the minimum bid rate for its regular refinancing operations steady at 2%, where it has been since June 2003.
The bank also held its other two key rates - the deposit rate and the marginal lending rate - unchanged at 1% and 3% respectively.
Today's ECB's projections for 2007 put core inflation at 2.0 per cent that year. As this is slightly above the ECB's target (of an inflation rate just below 2 per cent) it puts in place a further small piece of the foundations for a future rate rise.
Trichet emphasised upside risks to inflation in today's statement. Everybody knows that at some time we will have to raise rates, he said'.
Hughes observed: Clearly, the ECB does not intend to shock markets when it raises rates.
The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at 4.75% for the seventh month running today, as the MPC waits for further data on the UK economy.
Some economists believe a rate rise is on the cards later this year in light of recent data showing the housing market is starting to creep forward again.
BoE Governor Mervyn King recently suggested he needs to see proof that consumer spending has recovered before a rise in interest rates is considered.
The U.S. trade deficit fell sharply in March to the lowest level in six months as U.S. exports climbed to an all-time high and the surge of textile shipments from China slowed.
US trade sanctions against China would threaten global growth in living standards, especially in the US, Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said on Thursday, in prepared testimony to the Senate Committee on finance.
"The broad tariff on Chinese goods that has recently been proposed, should it be implemented, would significantly lower US imports from China but would comparably raise US imports from other low-cost sources of supply," Mr Greenspan said.
Mr Greenspan also told the committee that it was "mistaken" to believe that a significant revaluation of China's currency against the dollar would increase manufacturing activity and jobs in the US.
"I am aware of no credible evidence that supports such a conclusion," Mr Greenspan said.
176 :Confident Greenspan Ups Rate Again :2005/07/01(金) 18:07:48 ID:fGRebbte
The Fed issued a statement that said, "Although energy prices have risen further, the [U.S. economy's] expansion remains firm and labor market conditions continue to improve gradually," according to The Associated Press.
Thursday's move marked the ninth rise in the key rate. When Greenspan's group began its credit-cinching drive a year ago, the funds rate had been at 1%--the lowest since Dwight D. Eisenhower was president. More...
The European Central Bank and the Bank of England on Thursday left their interest rates unchanged, and the ECB said it did not expect the London terrorist attacks to have a significant economic impact. Jean-Claude Trichet, ECB president, said he had spoken to other central bankers during the day, and had confirmed that financial markets were functioning.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, appearing before Congress for a second straight day on Thursday to discuss the U.S. economy, repeated that growth was solid and interest rates will keep rising.
Greenspan's prepared remarks to the Senate Banking Committee were identical to those he gave on Wednesday to the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.
However, he is likely to face a barrage of lawmaker questions about China's long-awaited decision to modestly revalue its yuan currency by uncoupling it from the U.S. dollar and tying it to a basket of currencies.
China's currency peg has faced increasing fire in Congress with many lawmakers calling for punitive tariffs on cheaply priced Chinese imports unless the Asian trade giant buckled to U.S. demands and revalued its currency.
This was likely to be the 79-year-old Fed chief's final presentation of semiannual congressional testimony on the economy and monetary policy since he is to step down at the end of January after 18 years leading the U.S. central bank.
He described the U.S. economy as back on firm footing after earlier "soft readings," and forecast "sustained economic growth and contained inflation pressures."
"In our view, realizing this outcome will require the Federal Reserve to continue to remove monetary accommodation," he added, using central banker code to say the Fed will keep raising short-term interest rates, its principal tool for setting the nation's monetary policy.
But he warned "significant uncertainties" confront this positive prospect, including high energy prices, labor costs, the future path of long-term interest rates and the danger this could spell for the country's housing market.
Since June last year, the Fed has raised the federal funds rate target for overnight loans between banks nine times in quarter-percentage-point increments to its current level of 3.25 percent. Analysts expect the Fed to keep raising rates and anticipate a fed funds rate of 4 percent by year-end.
Americans' anxiety about the economy and their jobs resurfaced in July, sending a widely followed measure of consumer confidence downward and ending a three-month winning streak. The Conference Board said Tuesday its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 103.2 from a revised 106.2 in June. The July figure was worse than the 106.2 analysts expected.
Consumers' sentiment contrasted with an upbeat assessment of the economy last week from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who said he expected the economy to keep growing even as a flurry of job cuts from major corporations were announced.
"There was enough bad economic news this month to justify a slight dip in consumer confidence," said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wachovia Corp., saying he believes the Fed is "overly optimistic."
52 名前:包茎野郎一番星 ◆3zNBOPkseQ [sage] 投稿日:2005/08/26(金) 23:56:24 ID:ddVjpMZm Greenspan Worries About Economic Health Creeping trade protectionism and bloated budget deficits pose a risk to the United States' long-term economic vitality. "Developing protectionism regarding trade and our reluctance to place fiscal policy on a more sustainable path are threatening what may well be our most valued policy asset: the increased flexibility of our economy, which has fostered our extraordinary resilience to shocks,"
Washington Post - Sep 02 4:08 AM President Bush had lunch with Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan yesterday to discuss the economic impact of Hurricane Katrina, heightening speculation among analysts and investors that the central bank might slow its interest rate increases in response to the storm's effects.
European Central Bank (ECB) President Jean-Claude Trichet said that the Group of Seven richest countries wants further orderly appreciation of some currencies used by emerging Asian economies.
Speaking before the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee, Wednesday, Trichet said: "Our main message collectively is certainly to call for a certain and smooth and orderly appreciation of the exchange rates of a number of Asian emerging currencies."
G7 finance ministers and central bankers, who have long been urging Asian countries whose currencies are pegged to the dollar to allow for some appreciation, are to discuss exchange rates later this month at a meeting in Washington, Trichet said.
China, which has in particular been the target of their pressure, has allowed the yuan to appreciate slightly with the unveiling on July 21 of a revised exchange rate regime.
Conflicting economic risks that could emerge from Hurricane Katrina are putting Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and his central- bank colleagues in a chal- lenging spot.
Fallout from the disaster is expected to slow economic growth over the remainder of the year, perhaps persuading the Fed to suspend its campaign of raising interest rates.
However, a main argument for the Fed to stay the course is the concern that high energy costs, made worse by the storm, could filter down and affect the price of all kinds of things. Broader inflation could follow.
Policy-makers meet today to consider their next move on interest rates. Many economists are betting they will lift an important short-term benchmark by one-quarter of percentage point, to 3.75 percent. It would be the 11th such increase since the Fed began to tighten credit in June 2004.
Commercial banks would be expected to increase their prime lending rates by a corresponding amount, to 6.75 percent. These rates are used for many short-term consumer loans, including some credit cards and popular home-equity lines of credit.
If the Fed pushes rates up again this week, borrowing costs would reach their highest level in four years.
Whatever the fate of interest rates, there is agreement that the hurricane is causing uncertainty about the economic outlook.
There are mixed opinions on what the Fed will do Nov. 1 and Dec. 13, the last scheduled meetings for this year.
Economists will scrutinize the Fed's brief statement, released after its meeting today, for clues about the future course of interest rates. The statement explains the Fed's action and assesses economic conditions.
Greenspan's remarks delivered via video link to a conference in Mexico referred to the broadest measure of U.S. trade called the current account deficit, which swelled to a record $668 billion last year. The shortfall is financed mostly by foreign investors.
The huge current account deficits the U.S. has been running up each year "cannot persist indefinitely" Greenspan warned in prepared remarks. "At some point, investors will balk at further financing," he said. The Fed chief didn't say when this might occur.
This current account deficit is considered the best measure of a country's international economic standing because it tracks not only goods and services but investment flows between countries.
Many traders expect the yen to continue to suffer from zero interest rates in Japan and the perception that the Bank of Japan will be the last central bank to tighten its policy among major central banks.
Some traders think the yen would see little benefit even if Japan raises rates once or twice as there would remain a huge yield gap between Japan and the rest of the world.
But others see a turning of the tide some time next year.
"I think the yen will continue to fall for the time being," said Fumihiko Kawano, forex manager at Nomura Securities. "But later next year, things will change ahead of the U.S. mid-term election."
March 15, 2006 -- The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), under new chairman Ben S. Bernanke, will raise the influential federal funds rate target at each of its next two meetings and then quit until next spring, predicts Global Insight, an economic forecasting firm based in Waltham, Mass.
In an attempt to calm inflation worries, the FOMC will raise the target rate by 25 basis points (to 4.75%) on March 28 and another 25 basis points (to 5%) on May10, the forecasters state.
"The next move, in the spring of 2007, will be a rate cut to counter the slowdown in real growth and recognize the deceleration in inflation," they say.
214 :With Bernanke in chair, Fed set to hike US rates afresh:2006/03/28(火) 03:29:12.96 ID:vzCXFiDq
The Federal Reserve readied to open a two-day meeting under new chairman Ben Bernanke with pundits betting on another rate hike but less sure about the way ahead.
Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg said the 15th hike running by the Fed's open market committee (FOMC) appeared a "fait accompli" as the panel prepared to open its first meeting under Bernanke over lunch.
But he added: "Market players will be closely scrutinizing the language of the policy statement for hints about how many more rate increases are in store beyond March 28th."
Fed vice chairman nominee tells Senate committee readings were higher than expected and that economy is being challenged by high energy prices.
Federal Reserve Board Governor Donald Kohn, the nominee to be No. 2 at the U.S. central bank, said elevated inflation readings had raised a "warning flag" that demanded the attention of policy-makers.
"I have found the recent inflation data somewhat troubling," the central bank veteran told the Senate Banking Committee at a hearing on his nomination to be Fed vice chairman. "They were higher than I had anticipated and that raises a warning flag that something might be in train."
"Yes, the economy is slowing down and that will help to dampen inflation pressures, but at the same time, there are some danger signs out there that we need to be quite attentive to," he added.
"I think people are reacting to some extent to the energy price situation. The economy is facing a somewhat more difficult situation right now, because of the rise in energy prices, which has both tended to raise inflation and also tended to damp activity going forward," he said.
"When inflation begins to rise, that undermines economic performance. It undermines the confidence in our currency. It undermines our monetary system and, in the process, [it] will not permit the economy to produce at its full potential."
World leaders have called for an international force to be deployed in south Lebanon to stop Hezbollah guerrillas there from firing rockets into Israel.
"The blunt reality is that this violence is not going to stop unless we create the conditions for the cessation of violence," Tony Blair, the British prime minister, said after talks with Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general.
"The only way is if we have a deployment of international forces that can stop bombardment coming into Israel."
Stocks, Bonds Rally on Bernanke's Remarks About Contained Inflation
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks and bonds rallied sharply Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke soothed investors with his view that the economy seems to be moderating and that inflation remains contained. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up by as much as 160 points, while Treasury bonds recovered from earlier losses and moved higher.
Wall Street interpreted Bernanke's testimony before Congress as a sign that the Fed is close to ending its streak of interest rate hikes. Bernake told the Senate Banking Committee, "We think inflation is going to moderate," and said the Fed's previous policy actions, such as rate hikes, could still affect the economy. However, he hedged the inflation outlook by talking about risks that could send prices higher.
Two government reports indicated the economy is indeed slowing. The Labor Department said the Consumer Price Index rose by just 0.2 percent in June, the smallest increase in four months, although core inflation, which excludes energy and food, rose by 0.3 percent in June, higher than the 0.2 percent Wall Street expected. That increase left core inflation rising for the past three months at an annual rate of 3.6 percent, far above the Federal Reserve comfort zone of 2 percent or less.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said construction of new homes fell by 5.3 percent in June, another sign that the once-booming housing market is slowing.
U.S. Federal Reserve policy-makers on Tuesday may break the chain of interest-rate rises they began two years ago but economists say this won't necessarily mean they are laying down arms against inflation.
"Yet a pause is not necessarily the end of the story," a market commentary from Morgan Stanley said on Monday. "We still believe that inflation risks are tilted higher and that the economy is more resilient than commonly thought."