Asia, Central Bank | featured news

Japan is making a sweeping shift in its monetary policy, aiming to spur inflation and get the world's third-largest economy out of a long, debilitating slump. Bowing to demands from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for more aggressive monetary easing, the Bank of Japan announced Thursday a policy overhaul intended to double the money supply and achieve a 2 percent inflation target at the "earliest possible time, with a time horizon of about two years."

China's economy hasn't shown any signs of rebounding in the third quarter, and domestic investment is unlikely to expand dramatically in the short term, a central bank adviser said.

A closely watched survey by Japan's central bank has found big manufacturers have more confidence in the world's third-largest economy than they did three months ago.

India's industrial output was flat in April, deepening worries of an economic slowdown in Asia's third-largest economy and upping the pressure on the central bank to cut interest rates next week.

China's central bank cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves on Saturday, freeing an estimated 400 billion yuan ($63.5 billion) for lending to head-off the risk of a sudden slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

China loosens its currency controls in a move that may spur gains in the value of the yuan. From Monday, the yuan can fluctuate up to 1% in trading against the US dollar from a fixed price set by the central bank, the People's Bank of China said.

A decision by European central banks to support the region's financial system helped calm Asian markets, setting off a rally across the region in Friday trading....

South Korea's move to buy gold for the first time in 13 years is the latest in a growing trend of central banks diversifying their reserves and reducing dependence on the U.S. dollar.

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.

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.