Topic: Central Banks

Four years of economic crisis and market turmoil that have sent German bund yields to record lows now have half of the top bond strategists and economists polled by Reuters fearing a Japan-style "Lost Decade".

Germany's manufacturing sector has been shrinking at the fastest rate in three years in May, renewing concerns about the stamina of Europe's largest economy, which likely propped up the euro zone in the first quarter but is beginning to show signs of strain.

Continued weakness in China’s economic data, as well as growing risks of a Greek exit from the euro zone, will drive Beijing to launch aggressive stimulus measures in order to prevent a further deterioration of growth in the world’s second largest economy, economists and strategists told CNBC.

New Zealand unveiled its toughest budget in 20 years on Thursday, with no spending increase and moves to increase the tax take in the struggling economy, as it laid out a return to a budget surplus by 2015.

To the frustration of Mario Draghi the European Central Bank is once again being eyed as a possible saviour of Europe’s monetary union. The FT reports.

The Indian rupee dropped to a record low against the dollar on Wednesday, sparking mild intervention from a central bank seen by traders as reluctant to be more aggressive against such a strong down trend. 

With Japan awash in cheap funding provided by domestic savings and local banks continuing to park their cash in government bonds, analysts tell CNBC the country faces no urgency in dealing with its rising public debt, despite the latest ratings cut by Fitch.

Japan's exports rose in April from a year before at the fastest pace in more than a year, helped by a recovery in overseas demand.

The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady on Wednesday, preferring to save its ammunition as Europe's deepening debt crisis may warrant further action in the coming months to fend off damage to the fragile economy.

Germany dismissed a French-led call for euro zone nations to issue common bonds, a day before a European Union leaders' summit which investors are looking to for new measures to counter the bloc's debt crisis.

JPMorgan Chase is one of the best banks in the U.S., with some of the best managers in the industry, and one trading error will not change that, Richard Bove, vice president of equity research, financial sector, at Rochdale Securities, told CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange.”

Japan's sovereign rating was cut by one notch by Fitch on Tuesday as a political stalemate dims the chance that the country can curb its snowballing debt.

Japan was the world's major creditor in 2011, for the 21st consecutive year, reflecting corporations' aggressive foreign acquisitions and Japan's prodigious foreign currency intervention.

China can now bypass Wall Street when buying U.S. government debt and go straight to the Treasury in what is the Treasury's first-ever direct relationship with a foreign government.

The world has "hopefully" gotten through the worst in terms of what some analysts have called "currency wars," according to Chad P. Bown, senior economist at the World Bank's Development Research Group, Trade and International Integration.