US Fed rate down to 0.25%

The US Federal Reserve has slashed its key interest rate from 1% to a range of between zero and 0.25% as it battles the country’s recession.

In its statement, the Federal Reserve warned that “the outlook for economic activity has weakened further”.

It predicted that rates would stay at the current exceptionally low levels “for some time”.

It added that it was considering ways it could spend money on supporting the economy and credit markets.

Analysts said that the key rate is now virtually zero.

Opec agrees record cut deal – Prices stay low

The oil producers’ cartel Opec has agreed to make a record cut in output, slashing 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from its current supply.

Opec has made two other cuts since September, meaning it has cut a total of 4.2 million bpd in four months.

Despite the record cut, oil prices continued to fall as US data provided fresh evidence of falling demand.

US light, sweet crude for January fell as low as $39.94 a barrel, its first time been below $40 since July 2004.

The falls were blamed on US inventories figures, which showed that demand for petrol in the four weeks to 12 December was down 2.7% from the same period last year.

€10.6 billion in Maltese portfolio investments abroad

Portfolio investment assets held abroad by entities resident in Malta were estimated at €10.6 billion as at the end of December 2007, the National Statistics Office said this week.

Oil falls below $46, lowest in nearly four years…

Oil fell below $46 a barrel to its lowest in nearly four years today, extending four consecutive days of declines in response to the bleak outlook for the world economy and oil demand.

Oil prices have dropped more than $100 a barrel from an all-time high of $147.27 hit in July.

ECB cuts rates by a further 75 basis points

The European Central Bank cut interest rates by 75 basis points today, its biggest ever move as inflation plummets and the euro zone economy sinks deeper into recession.

The move takes the ECB’s main refinancing rate to 2.5 percent, its lowest in nearly two-and-a-half years and marks the third cut in barely two months amidst signs that the financial crisis is biting hard into the real economy.

The majority of economists had expected a smaller, 50 basis point cut although a significant minority forecast a bigger move. Financial markets had priced in a 75 basis points reduction.

Other central banks have taken even more aggressive moves, with the Swedish central bank cutting by a record 175 basis points while the Bank of England cut rates by 100 basis points to two percent, their lowest level since 1951.

MIA passenger movements down by 6.1% in October, but still 6.2% up for the year

Passenger movements at Malta International Airport dropped by 6.1 % last month when compared to the same month in 2007, with a total of 279,946 passengers handled, down by 18,319 MIA said this afternoon.

Aircraft movements decreased by 8.8% for a total of 2,342.

The company said there was a decline of 21,716 passengers (-17.8%) from the UK market. The Italian and French markets shed 10.3% and 1.8% passengers respectively, whilst the German market held its ground and the Spanish market continued to grow with more than double the passengers passing through MIA when compared to October 2007.

Despite the downturn in October, passenger numbers this year since January have increased by 6.2%.

It’s official: Eurozone in recession

The eurozone has officially slipped into recession after EU figures showed that the economy shrank by 0.2% in the third quarter.

This follows a 0.2% contraction in the 15-nation area in the previous quarter from April to June.

Two quarters of negative growth define a technical recession.

The news was widely anticipated and follows data showing that Germany and Italy, two of the biggest eurozone economies, are already in recession.

It is the first recession the region has seen since the euro’s creation in 1999.

But analysts forecast worse to come for the countries that use the euro. We have not had in the GDP figures the full impact of the credit market crisis as well as the full impact of unemployment on consumer spending.

Inflation up in October – reaches annual rate of 5.8%

The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices jumped to 112.05 points in October from 110.98 in September, the NSO said this morning.

It also reported the annual rate of inflation rising to 5.8 percent last month from 4.9 percent in September and just 1.6 percent in October last year. The annual rate had also been 5.4 percent and 5.6 percent in August and July respectively.

The twelve-month moving average rate of inflation stood at 4.4 percent,up from 4 percent in September and 0.3 percent in October last year.

The NSO said the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices increased by 1 percent over the previous month owing to an increase of 8.9 percent in the Clothing and Footwear Index, mainly due to the introduction of new stocks in the market.

The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels Index went up by 5.8 percent, mainly on account of water and electricity tariffs.

An increase of 5.3 percent was registered in the Education Index, due to higher school and private tuition fees. Seasonal increases in the prices of fruit and vegetables caused the Food and Nonalcoholic Beverages Index to rise by 3.5 percent.

The Recreation and Culture Index went up by 0.6 percent, due to higher prices of newspapers and periodicals. Higher prices of products used for personal care and of certain types of financial services contributed to a 0.5 per cent increase in the Miscellaneous Goods and Services Index.

The Transport Index shifted up by 0.2 percent, mainly on account of higher prices of motor cars and road transport. A similar increase was recorded in the Furniture, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House Index, mainly brought about by costlier household textiles and higher fees for repairs of household appliances. The Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Index moved marginally upward on account of an increase in the price of wine.

The Restaurants and Hotels Index registered a drop of 3.8 percent, seasonal price reductions in accommodation services being the main contributory factor. In October, the twelve-month moving average rate of inflation stood at 4.4 percent, whereas the annual rate of inflation stood at 5.8 percent

Malta’s employment gap between men and women still widest in EU

Gender employment gap still widest in the EU

The gap in employment rates between men and women in the EU is by far the widest in Malta, even though it has narrowed, an EU survey has confirmed.

The member states with the smallest employment gender gaps in 2007 were Finland (3.6 percentage points), Sweden (4.7 pp) and Lithuania (5.7 pp), and those with the largest were Malta (37.3 pp), Greece (27.0 pp), Italy (24.1 pp) and Spain (21.5 pp).

ECB rates down a further half percentage point, now at 3.25%

The European Central Bank has lowered its eurozone interest rates to 3.25% in an attempt to prevent a recession.

The bank reduced rates by half a percentage point amid increasing signs of slowing growth. The Swiss and Danish central banks did the same.

ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said further cuts could not be ruled out.

Separately, the International Monetary Fund has forecast that the eurozone economy would shrink by 0.5% in 2009, more than previously estimated.