Economic News

The dollar fell Thursday after hawkish comments from the head of the European Central Bank fueled expectations that interest rates in the euro zone will climb more aggressively than expected, reducing the greenback's interest- rate advantage. The European Central Bank on Thursday left its key interest rate at 2.75% unchanged, as expected. Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB's president, said the centr ...

The dollar weakened across the board early Thursday after hawkish comments from the head of the European Central Bank fueled expectations that interest rates in the euro zone will climb more aggressively than expected. The European Central Bank on Thursday left its key rate at 2.75% unchanged as widely expected. Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB's president, said the central bank would express "stro ...

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) - The nonmanufacturing side of the U.S. economy expanded at a slower pace in June, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The ISM nonmanufacturing index fell to 57.0% from 60.1% in May. This is the lowest level since January. The drop was more than expected. Economists had forecast the index to slip to 59.6%, according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch.  ...

LONDON (Dow Jones) -- The European Central Bank on Thursday held off on back- to-back interest rate hikes, keeping its key rate at 2.75%, but hinted as strongly as possible that it will lift rates in a month's time. The ECB decision to keep rates at 2.75% was widely expected and was unanimous. But Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB's president, unexpectedly used the phrase " strong vigilance" to d ...

LONDON (Reuters) - House prices fell 1.2 percent on the month in June and the level of activity in the market appears to have moderated, HBOS Plc's monthly Halifax house price survey showed on Thursday. The nation's largest mortgage lender said the three-month annual increase in house prices was 9.4 percent, but was likely to ease in the coming months, if only because the comparative figures last year were strong. "The level of activity appears to have moderated in recent months," Halifax said ...

LONDON (Reuters) - House prices fell 1.2 percent on the month in June and the level of activity in the market appears to have moderated, HBOS's monthly Halifax house price survey showed on Thursday. The nation's largest mortgage lender said the three-month annual increase in house prices was 9.4 percent, but was likely to ease in the coming months, if only because the comparative figures last year were strong. "The level of activity appears to have moderated in recent months," Halifax said in  ...

By Sumeet Desai LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England looks certain to leave interest rates on hold for the 11th month running this week but many economists expect a rise early next year. All 47 analysts polled by Reuters predicted last week the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee would leave interest rates at 4.5 percent when it finishes its two-day meeting on Thursday. "We firmly expect the MPC to keep base rates on hold," said Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec. The outlook be ...

By Fiona Shaikh LONDON (Reuters) - The services economy expanded at a slightly weaker than expected pace last month, but the sector is still in good shape and could help boost overall growth in the second quarter, a survey showed on Wednesday. The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply/RBS business activity index eased to 58.7 in June from 59.2 in May and was slightly weaker than analysts' forecasts of 59.0. Short sterling interest rate futures ticked up after the data, but economists s ...

The growth of euro and dollar loans in nations aiming to join the European Union could spark local financial crises, a report has warned. The European Central Bank said foreign currency borrowing was now widespread among firms and households in Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Turkey. Yet it warned the practice, which allows them to gain a lower interest rate, represented a long-term risk. Any sharp fall in the local currencies would make the loans much more costly. 'Major vulnerability' The  ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Growth in the services economy slowed slightly more than expected last month but expansion remained robust, with employment rising at its fastest pace in eight years, a survey showed on Wednesday. The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply/RBS business activity index eased to 58.7 in June from 59.2 in May and was slightly weaker than analysts' forecasts of 59.0. Short sterling interest rate futures rose after the data, but economists said the Bank of England was still  ...