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European Central Bank

October

Up for sale: The Chrysler building is one of the most iconic skyscrapers in Manhattan.

Tussle for control of New York’s famed Chrysler Building

Legal disputes and ruthless manoeuvres are commonplace in the cutthroat world of New York real estate. Now the fate of a famous skyscraper hangs in the balance.

  • Philip Kaleta
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde.

ECB cuts rates again as euro zone economy stagnates

The European Central Bank offered its first back-to-back rate cut in 13 years - in a shift to protecting economic growth.

  • Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi

September

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell.

Did central banks get the inflation crisis right?

Rate-cutting cycles in recent decades – such as in the early 2000s, or during the financial crisis of 2007 – have tended to be associated with steep economic downturns.

  • Sam Fleming, Colby Smith and Olaf Storbeck
Christine Lagarde

ECB cuts rates again as economy stumbles

The ECB is getting more confident that consumer-price growth is returning to target following its historic spike.

  • Alexander Weber, Mark Schroers and Jana Randow
US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.

The Fed needs to avoid becoming passive-aggressive

Adjusting policy in a timely manner to sustain economic expansions is difficult. Given the lags in policy transmission, the time to reset the funds rate has arrived.

  • Andrew Law
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August

From left: Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey at the Jackson Hole symposium.

Jackson Hole bankers pivot to cuts as soft landing comes into view

Global rate-setters have left the Wyoming symposium cautiously optimistic, but acutely aware of the risks of either cutting rates too soon or leaving it too late.

  • Colby Smith
Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), from left, Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), and Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, at the Jackson Hole economic symposium in Moran, Wyoming, US, on Friday.

Jackson Hole gathering reveals fresh concern for central bankers

Officials from three of the world’s major central banks have signalled they are on course to lower interest rates emerging weakness in labour markets and growth become the chief threat for policymakers.

  • Steve Matthews, Mark Schroers and Jonnelle Marte
Adrian Orr, governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

New Zealand cuts rates in a rapid change of tune

The RBNZ’s pivot to easing is a dramatic shift after it said in May it considered raising rates and wouldn’t cut them until the second half of 2025.

  • Updated
  • Tracy Withers
Negotiated wages in Germany are expected to shoot up by 5.6 per cent in 2024, based on deals agreed between January and June.

Eurozone rate cut questioned as German wages soar

Not all rate-setters are convinced that the ECB will manage to avoid what bank president Christine Lagarde has referred to as “tit-for-tat inflation”.

  • Olaf Storbeck
The Bank of England announces its voting splits on the day of the decision.

Central banks need true transparency not fake consensus

The Bank of England isn’t afraid to advertise its differences. That is better for creating trust than the obsession with a united front at the US Fed.

  • Mohamed El-Erian

July

Ships and bulk carriers anchored offshore from Singapore. The cost of moving a 40-foot container between Asia and northern Europe at short notice has more than doubled since April.

Wave of shipping inflation could complicate rate cuts, economists warn

Economists are sounding the alarm on the impact of surging shipping costs on the global fight against inflation.

  • Delphine Strauss
The question of a September rate cut is ‘wide open’, says ECB president Christine Lagarde.

We don’t know when rates will be cut again, ECB says

European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde says the question of an interest rate cut in September is “wide open”, and dependent on data.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
Fed chairman Jerome Powell appears more confident than RBA’s Michele Bullock on inflation.

Bond market dials up US rate cut bets; RBA left behind

Goldman Sachs says there is now “solid rationale” for the Federal Reserve to start cutting rates this month. It’s a different picture in Australia, where markets are still pricing in a rate rise.

  • Sarah Jones
US rate cut hopes have fuelled a global equities rally.

ASX to hit 8000 as markets bank on Federal Reserve to cut rates

It’s taken the local bourse just over three years to climb another 1000 points after breaching the 7000 level in April 2021, fuelled by pandemic-era stimulus.

  • Sarah Jones
The US is the epicentre of the private challenge to public markets.

Why central banks are in two minds on the private credit boom

The US Fed is not worried about the systemic risks of private credit, but the Bank of England and the ECB are not so sure.

  • Howard Davies
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June

Marine Le Pen after a press conference in Paris this week.

France’s election could trigger market shockwaves, BoE warns

The Bank of England’s alert comes before Sunday’s first round of voting. Polls now show the populist right potentially closing in on a parliamentary majority.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
US Fed chairman Jerome Powell at a press conference overnight. He said it was a “balancing act” to subdue inflation and keep the economy growing.

The Fed treats itself to the luxury of time when it comes to rates

The decision to sit pat highlights the very different approaches central bankers are taking as they try to rein in inflation while maintaining economic growth.

  • Karen Maley
ECB president Christine Lagarde was the latest policymaker to start cutting interest rates.

There’s money to be made anticipating the next central bank pivot

After a period of synchronised monetary policy among developed markets, 2024 presents a new phase of divergence, creating opportunities for astute investors.

  • Arian Neiron

ECB’s historic rate cut | D-Day remembered | Private credit boom goes public

Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.

Canada and Europe have started cutting rates.

ECB’s historic cut was completely expected and still surprising

With Canada and Europe moving this week, does the RBA now have more room to deliver the rate cut many Australian households and investors crave?

  • James Thomson

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/european-central-bank-1mza