By Reuters Staff
(Adds debt agency statement)
BUDAPEST, April 12 (Reuters) - Hungary’s central bank is committed to buy green government bonds as part of its asset purchase programme, the bank said on Monday in a reply to Reuters questions about a 30-year green government bond issue planned for this month.
The new forint-denominated green bond will be offered at an auction on April 22, the debt agency said in a reply to Reuters questions on Monday. The agency said it planned to sell 90 billion forints ($300 million) worth of the bond in 2021.
The National Bank of Hungary, led by an ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has injected huge sums into the pandemic-hit economy over the past year, including billions of euros worth of government bond purchases. This has supported the local bond market at a time of surging borrowing needs.
The U.S. economy could see a significant rebound this year thanks to accommodative monetary and fiscal policy, but the labor market still has much room for improvement, Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren said on Monday.
By Reuters Staff
Slideshow ( 2 images )
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem, speaking in a newspaper interview, said on Wednesday he saw worrying signs that household indebtedness was worsening as housing prices continue to soar.
Macklem’s comments to the Financial Post mark the second time in less than a week that a senior official at the bank has expressed concern about housing prices in Canada, which jumped by 25% in February compared with a year earlier.
“If you look at the household indebtedness, you are seeing, on average, the loan-to-value ratios are getting higher, particularly in the uninsured space. That suggests that Canadians are stretching and that is worrying,” the newspaper quoted Macklem as saying.
2 Min Read
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Business sentiment in Canada continues to improve and many firms consider the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic behind them, though the outlook remains challenging for high-contact services, a Bank of Canada survey showed on Monday.
FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured outside the Bank of Canada building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo
The survey, conducted before new restrictions came into effect earlier this month to tackle a third coronavirus wave, found sales were at or above pre-pandemic levels for 64% of businesses.
“With uncertainty having receded and vaccination rollouts continuing, firms’ indicators of future sales have strengthened again,” the central bank said in its spring Business Outlook Survey. The BOS indicator hit its highest level since mid-2018.
Britain has launched an official independent probe into former Prime Minister David Cameron's efforts to lobby ministers on behalf of financier Lex Greensill, The Sun newspaper and the BBC reported.