By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: The European Central Bank (ECB) logo in Frankfurt, Germany, January 23, 2020. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank left its ultra-easy policy unchanged as expected on Thursday but kept the door open to more stimulus as the outlook sours amid a spreading COVID-19 pandemic.
Having extended support well into next year with a massive stimulus package in December, the ECB is already providing nearly all the help it can and the flexibility built into its measures allows the bank to ramp up bond purchases without a fresh decision by policymakers.
By Reuters Staff
1 Min Read
TOKYO, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Japan on Thursday kept its forecasts for an estimated return to a budget surplus in the long-term unchanged, even as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy and the country’s debt burden remains uncertain.
In its twice-yearly fiscal and economic projections, the government forecasted the primary budget, excluding new bond sales and debt servicing, to achieve a surplus of 300 billion yen ($2.9 billion) in the fiscal year starting April 2029.
That was unchanged from its previous forecast released last July, when it pushed back the projection for achieving the surplus by two years.
Turkey's lira and South Africa's rand edged higher on Thursday ahead of their respective central bank meetings, while most other emerging market currencies rose on optimism over a bumper U.S. stimulus package.
Asian markets were set to rise on Thursday after U.S. stocks closed at record highs on hopes that newly inaugurated U.S. President Joe Biden would put in place further economic stimulus to offset damage wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic.