Interest Rates
May 6 (Bloomberg) — The euro weakened against the dollar for a second day on speculation the European Central Bank policy makers will lower interest rates tomorrow and consider other measures to stimulate growth.
The ECB will at least announce something unusual. In terms of policy measures, they’ll be discussing the types of measures that would potentially weaken the euro.
Sean Callow, senior currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. Sydney.
The European Central Bank will lower the main interest rate by a quarter-percentage point to 1 percent tomorrow, according to the median forecast of 53 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
The financial crisis needs “drastic” measures.
Athanasios Orphanides, an ECB council member, said in Nicosia yesterday.
Orphanides and George Provopoulos, another member,
have indicated they may support cutting the target rate to less than 1 percent and buying debt to pump money into the economy.
The Banks in US
The Federal Reserve’s stress-test results, to be released tomorrow, may show about 10 banks need new capital, people familiar with the matter said.
that another shock to the financial system would undercut the central bank’s forecast that the U.S. recession will give way this year to a slow recovery
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday in congressional testimony
Regulators have determined that Bank of America Corp. requires about $34 billion in new capital, the largest need among the 19 biggest U.S. banks subjected to stress tests, said people with knowledge of the matter. Citigroup Inc.’s shortfall is more limited, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. doesn’t need a deeper reserve against losses.
