Central Bank | featured news

The United States probably wouldn't be able to maintain its prized AAA sovereign ratings status if it suffered even a "technical" default on its debt, Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday.

A senior banking regulator urged Congress to raise the federal debt ceiling to prevent a "calamitous" government debt default.

The European Central Bank is poised to raise interest rates from a record low 1.0 percent on Thursday and more is likely to follow but, fearful of heaping more pain on the euro zone's stragglers, it will give few clues about when the next move will come.

China's central bank increased interest rates on Tuesday for the fourth time since October, raising suspicions that data next week may show inflation rose more than expected in March.

European Central Bank policymakers underscored the case for an April rate hike on Thursday as Portugal's political crisis raised the prospect of another spell of reluctant ECB bond market intervention.

Japan's central bank injected a record 7 trillion yen ($85.5 billion) into money markets and the Tokyo stock market nosedived Monday on the first business day since an earthquake and tsunami devastated the country's northeast and raised dire worries about the economy.

China's central bank raised interest rates on Tuesday, its second increase in just over a month, intensifying its fight against stubbornly high inflation.

The Federal Reserve looks set to embark on a hotly debated second round of monetary easing next week, but much uncertainty surrounds the scope and pace of bond purchases by the U.S. central bank.

The central bank said it would raise benchmark one-year deposit and lending rates by 25 basis points each, a move that reflects its concern about rising domestic asset prices and inflation.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on Friday laid out a case for the central bank to take further action to bolster growth, citing the risks of prolonged high unemployment and a U.S. economy slipping into a deflationary spiral.