Industry favours more rate cuts to stimulate demand

July 17th, 2009 Mexico central bank cuts reference rate 0.25 pctMEXICO CITY — Mexico's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point Friday, dropping the interbank rate to 4.50 percent to stimulate a recession-dogged economy. The peso strengthened after the announcement, trading early Friday at 13.4 to the dollar compared to 13.6 on Thursday.

May 12th, 2009 Bank of Korea keeps key interest rate at 2 percentSEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's central bank left its key interest rate unchanged Tuesday at a record low for a third straight month amid signs the country's slumping economy is improving. The Bank of Korea kept the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate at 2 percent at a regular monthly policy meeting.

May 8th, 2009 Surprise slip in unemployment in AustraliaSYDNEY — Australia's jobless rate slipped marginally to 5.4 percent in April compared to March, despite widespread predictions of a further rise in unemployment because of the global economic slowdown. The official Australian Bureau of Statistics data released Thursday showed that more than 27,000 new full- and part-time jobs were created in April, backing Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's claim that his massive stimulus packages were protecting workers and the economy from recession.

April 21st, 2009 MUMBAI - India's Central bank cut key rates Tuesday by 25 basis points in a move to infuse more liquidity into the system and stimulate lending growth. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the repo rate by 25 basis points from the current 5 percent to 4.75 percent, while the reverse repo rate has been brought down to 3.25 percent from 3.5 percent earlier.

March 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The high government borrowing targets will leave very little room for interest rate cuts, Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar said Friday, adding that the troubled time is yet to come for the Indian Economy.

March 7th, 2009 MUMBAI - The fiscal deficit will stimulate growth of the Indian Economy, chief economic advisor Arvind Virmani said here Friday. 'GDP growth rate for India can be reasonably forecast after the publishing of figures for agricultural output.

March 6th, 2009 LONDON - The Bank of England (BoE) Thursday cut interest rates to 0.5 percent and injected up to 75 billion pounds ($105 billion) into the economy through quantitative easing. The rate cut from one percent was the fifth since last October.

February 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Home Minister P. Chidambaram Tuesday said the 2-percent excise and service tax cuts announced by the government will boost production, and asked companies to pass on the benefits to consumers to 'stimulate demand'.

February 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India Inc Tuesday welcomed the government's decision to reduce excise and service tax by 2 percent besides extending 4 percent excise duty cut beyond March 31, and said this would further stimulate and strengthen the economy. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee - who is handling the finance portfolio as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is heading that ministry, is recovering after a heart surgery - announced excise duty and service tax cuts by 2 percent in what is being touted as the third stimulus package to help corporate India tide over the impact of global economic crisis.

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 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India Inc. Tuesday expressed disappointment over the central bank's decision to maintain status quo on key rates, and said the Industry needed cash at 'relaxed' interest rates.

January 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The recent rate cuts by the central bank have not helped the corporate sector as banks have not lowered their lending rates, an industry lobby said Sunday. According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham), 78 percent of the 150 chief executives and managing directors polled in a recent survey said the liquidity crisis persisted despite the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reducing rates, as banks are not willing to lend money.

January 18th, 2009 TAIPEI - The Taiwan government has distributed shopping coupons worth more than about $2.6 billion to the public over the weekend to stimulate spending in the run-up to the Lunar New Year holiday. The coupons were being distributed through more than 14,200 outlets across the island.

January 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The UB Group-owned Kingfisher Airlines Thursday announced a 21 to 65 percent fare cut on various routes with effect from Jan 1. 'The declining price of ATF (air turbine fuel) facilitates such consumer-benefiting initiatives that will also stimulate the industry.

December 23rd, 2008 NEW DELHI - In a bid to help the economy tackle the global financial meltdown, the government is expected to come out with its second stimulus package within the next three days, commerce Minister Kamal Nath said here Wednesday. 'We are looking at financial, some liquidity issues, export, and something to stimulate demand and realty also,' Kamal Nath told reporters.