India Cuts Repurchase Rate to 5%; Private Employers Cut 697,000 Jobs in Feb.; U.S. Auto Sales Down 41% in February; Oil Rallies to Six-year High; Merrill’s Top 10 Execs Paid $209 Million Last Year
India started the year on an actionable note by sharply cutting interest rates and unveiling another stimulus package. The Reserve Bank of India lowered its repurchase rate by one percentage point to 5.5%, and lowered the reverse-repurchase rate by one percentage point to 4%.
Editor’s Note: “Don’t look now… but the BRICs are falling,” says The Sovereign Soceity’s global investment expert Mike Burnick.
Mexico’s central bank unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 7.75% Friday, warning that the rate of inflation may exceed its previous forecast.
India’s wholesale price index rose 7.82% for in the week ended May 10, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry reported. It marked the 13th straight week that the inflation rate has been above the central bank’s 5.5% target, highlighting the increased pressures many developing nations are under given soaring commodities prices.