HSBC Holdings said on Thursday it will cut its best lending rate in Hong Kong by 12.5 basis points to 5.25% from 5.375%, effective Dec. 20. That followed a 25 basis points cut in the base rate charged through the overnight discount window of the city’s de facto central bank. Source : Reuters
Germany rejected UniCredit’s latest Commerzbank stake increase as an “uncoordinated and unfriendly approach” on Wednesday, strongly rebuking the Italian bank. UniCredit, which angered Berlin when it emerged as Commerzbank’s biggest private investor in September, said it had raised its stake in Commerzbank to 28% using derivatives. “Today’s news is remarkable because UniCredit had previously publicly emphasised that it did […]
Brazil’s real tumbled by the most in over two years to a fresh record low on Wednesday and stocks were also under pressure as financial markets put the Brazilian government’s spending plans and wide budget deficit to the test. The local currency hit its weakest-ever mark of 6.3139 to the dollar before closing down 2.9% […]
New Zealand’s economy sank into recession in the third quarter as activity dived far more sharply than expected and output in the prior quarter was slashed, a dire result that cements the case for more aggressive rate cuts. The shock news sent the local dollar to a fresh two-year low of $0.5614 , having already […]
The Indian rupee declined past 85 to the U.S. dollar for the first time on Thursday after the Federal Reserve signalled fewer rate cuts next year, piling more pressure on a currency already struggling with tepid capital flows. The rupee hit a low of 85.0675 against the U.S. dollar, down from 84.9525 on Wednesday. The […]
The recent rise of populist movements in Western democracies has accompanied an erosion of trust in institutions and expertise. This column examines the dynamic between traditional policymaking – characterised by complex compromise – and the rise, persistence, and recurrence of populism, which tends to encourage extreme and simplistic policies without solid evidence. The link between […]
Chinese lending to African countries has surged over the past 15 years, primarily aimed at financing infrastructure projects. This column shows that by lowering trade costs, Chinese infrastructure loans are linked to increased participation in global value chains, particularly in downstream sectors. As a result, Chinese lending may contribute to export growth and enhanced productivity […]
High temperature shocks create monetary policy trade-offs. This column uses a new monthly data set to study how 14 European central banks have responded to abnormally high temperatures in a centennial perspective (1920-2019). High temperature shocks are negative supply shocks to which central banks have reacted by lowering their interest rates. The macroeconomic impact of […]
In 2017 China banned the import of plastic waste, which led to large reallocations of plastic waste between countries. This column discusses the lessons that can be drawn for the planned EU reform of the EU Waste Shipments Regulation. While the overall trade of waste within Europe did not increase as a result of the […]
Social mobility in pre-industrial times has been argued to be much lower than often estimated and that it hardly changes over time. This column uses family records from central China over 1300–1900 to estimate social mobility. Within this sample, intergenerational mobility was not necessarily low and changed over time: mobility was substantially higher in the […]
