The central bank of the Philippines cut its key policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.50 percent, as expected by many economists, as low inflation gave Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) room to strengthen domestic activity while global economic prospects continue face considerable headwinds. BSP described the inflationary environment as"benign," saying forecasts indicate that inflation will remain on target from this year to 2014 and the risks to inflation are balanced. The central bank has now cut the rate on its key overnight borrowing, or reverse purchase facility, four times this year for a total reduction of 100 basis points. The overnight lending rate was also cut by 25 basis points to 5.50 percent. The Philippine inflation rate eased to 3.6 percent inSeptember from 3.8 percent and the BSP targets annual inflation of 3-5 percent. The central bank said it would closely monitor future price and output conditions, but did not give any further signal about the future move in interest rates. The Philippine economyexpanded by an annual 5.9 percent in the second quarter, down from 6.4 percent in the first, and thecentral bank said the domestic economy remained strong, but"additional policy support could help ward off the risks associated with weakerexternal demand by encouraging investment and consumption."

U.S. central bank, kept its benchmark federal funds rate unchanged at 0 to 0.25 percent

The Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, kept its benchmark federal funds rate unchanged at 0 to 0.25 percent and repeated that it anticipates keeping rates at these"exceptionally low levels" at least through mid-2015, steps that were widely expected by financial markets. A statement by the Federal Reserve's policy making body, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), essentially mirrored its statement fromSeptember. The FOMC saidit remains concerned that without sufficient policy accommodation, economic growth might not be strong enough to generate a sustained improvement inthe labor market. The FOMC said it would continue to increase its holdings of longer-term securities by about $85 billion each month throughthe end of this year by buying $40 billion of mortgage-backed securitiesa month, reinvesting proceeds from holdings into more agency-backed mortgage securities and extending the maturity of Treasury securities. As last month, the only member of the FOMC to vote against the statement was Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) has recorded a 45.3 per cent increase in earnings

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) has recorded a 45.3 per cent increase in earnings for the nine months to September on the back of reduced inflation and its improved performance by its regional subsidiaries.
The bank on Thursday announced that net profit for the period stood at Sh9.3 billion compared to Sh6.4 billion recorded during a similar period last year.
KCB’s net interest income from customer loans also went up by 31 per cent to Sh21.7 billion an improvement from Sh16.6 billion earned in a similar period last year.
The bank, which was on Monday voted as the fifth best taxpayer in the country, announced that its regional markets earned a net profit of 680 million up from last year’s Sh430 million – a 58.1 per cent growth

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