‘Increased borrowing will hamper interest rate cuts’

September 30th, 2009 Interest rates mixed at Treasury auctionWASHINGTON — Interest rates on six-month Treasury bills remained at a record low in Monday's auction, while rates on three-month bills rose. The Treasury Department on Monday auctioned $29 billion in six-month bills at a discount rate of 0.190 percent, the same as last week.

July 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Wednesday ruled out rollback of tax cuts offered to various sectors as part of the fiscal stimuli announced earlier and said it intends to bridge the fiscal deficit largely through internal resource mobilisation. "The economy is slowly reviving.

July 2nd, 2009 Swedish Riksbank cuts rates to record low 0.25 pctSTOCKHOLM — Sweden's central bank on Thursday surprised markets by cutting its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.25 percent, saying the economic downturn appears to be deeper than previously forecast. It added that low official interest rates might not be enough to make financial markets recover and decided to issue loans of 100 billion kronor ($13.1 billion) to banks.

June 4th, 2009 Russian central bank cuts interest ratesMOSCOW — Russia's Central Bank on Thursday cut its key interest rate by half a percentage point to 11.5 percent — the third time since April it has slashed borrowing costs to help its economy through recession. The bank said in a statement that the new refinancing rate will be effective Friday.

May 9th, 2009 Czech central bank cuts interest rates to 1.5 pctPRAGUE — The Czech Republic's central bank has cut its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.5 percent to help the economy combat reccession. It is the lowest rate since the country came into existence after the split of former Czechoslovakia in 1993.

May 9th, 2009 ECB cuts a quarter point; BoE hikes asset purchaseFRANKFURT — The European Central Bank has cut its main interest rate by a quarter point to 1 percent and is likely to unveil more measures aimed at boosting the economy of the 16-nation euro zone. The downward move was the fourth such decision this year by the Frankfurt-based bank that sets monetary policy for countries that share the euro currency.

May 8th, 2009 ECB cuts a quarter percent, will buy bondsFRANKFURT — The European Central Bank will purchase euro-denominated covered bonds and extend 12-month credits to banks as it moves to get more money flowing through the 16-nation euro zone economy. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, in remarks to reporters after the bank lowered its benchmark interest rate to 1 percent, unveiled the measures to accompany already announced increased liquidity and broader collateral rules for banks.

May 8th, 2009 Denmark cuts key interest rate to to 1.65 percentCOPENHAGEN — Denmark's central bank says it has cut its key interest rate by 0.35 percentage point to 1.65 percent. Denmark's Nationalbanken says the decision was a consequence of a rate cut by the European Central Bank earlier in the day.

April 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's central bank Tuesday predicted the economy would grow by 6 percent in the current fiscal. It cut key rates by 25 basis points and asked commercial banks to provide cheaper loans to industry and consumers.

April 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India Inc has welcomed cuts in key rates by 25 basis points by the Reserve Bank of India Tuesday, but added it expected bigger cuts. Said Harsh Pati Singhania, president of the industry lobby Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI): 'The cut in the repo rate could have been steeper because of the strong cushion provided by the extremely comfortable position with regard to inflation.' Singhania said FICCI has also hoped a cap by the RBI on the reverse repo rate to encourage banks to keep sufficient funds with themselves for keeping the credit disbursal pipeline running.

April 2nd, 2009 FRANKFURT - Falling inflation and a deepening recession paved the way for the European Central Bank (ECB) to deliver another rate cut Thursday, trimming borrowing costs to an historic low of 1.25 percent. The 25-basis-points reduction, less than the half-percentage-point analysts had expected, brought the total rate cuts made by the ECB in the 16-member eurozone since October to 300 basis points, reflecting its effort to spur economic growth.

March 5th, 2009 BERLIN/LONDON - Europe's two leading central banks are expected to deliver another round of hefty 50-basis points cuts in interest rates Thursday amid signs of the deepening global recession. While the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting in Frankfurt is forecast to cut its benchmark refinancing rate to 1.5 percent, the Bank of England (BoE) meeting in London is predicted to trim borrowing costs in Britain to just 0.5 percent.

February 4th, 2009 LONDON - The Bank of England (BoE) Thursday cut interest rates to an historic low of one percent in a further attempt to stimulate the economy and stave off a deepening recession. The bank's decision to cut borrowing costs by 50-basis-points follows monthly rate cuts since last October, when the key lending rate in Britain stood at five percent.

January 7th, 2009 LONDON - The Bank of England Thursday cut the base rate of interest by half a percentage point to an all-time low of 1.5 percent in an effort to bring down inflation and kick-start moribund credit flows. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee, which is charged with keeping inflation at 2 percent, said that cuts in interest rates since October 2007, coupled with a substantial fall in the sterling and 'prospective decline in inflation would together provide a considerable stimulus to activity as the year progressed'.

December 28th, 2008 NEW DELHI - Dena Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Bank of Baroda will reduce their benchmark prime lending rates (BPLR) from Jan 1, the three state-owned banks announced Monday. Dena Bank will cut its BPLR by 75 basis points from 13.5 percent annually to 12.75 percent.