- France’s July preliminary unemployment rate was 8.9 percent, a drop of 0.2 percent compared to the previous month. The rate is down 1 percent from July 2005.
- Germany’s August unemployment rate remained at 10.5 percent, which is 0.9 percent lower than August 2005.
- The UK’s August jobless rate is up 0.3 percent from July to 5.5 percent. Compared to the same month in 2005, the rate is up 0.7 percent. The country’s Q2 GDP increased 0.8 percent from the previous quarter.
- The Swiss National Bank increased its benchmark 3 month Swiss libor interest rate 0.25 percent to 1.75 percent on Sept. 14. The increase is the sixth since the end of 2003, when the rate stood at 0.25 percent.
- The National Bank of Hungary increased the 2-week deposit interest rate 50 basis points to 7.75 percent in September. The NBH has now made four consecutive 0.50 percent increases after more than two years of decreases, during which the rate fell from 12.5 percent to 6.0 percent.
- The National Bank of Slovakia raised the 2-week limit repo rate 0.25 percent to 4.75 percent. The increase follows three previous rate hikes of 50 basis points.
- The Czech National Bank’s 2-week repo rate was raised from 2.25 percent to 2.5 percent. The rate had fallen to 1.75 percent in April 2005, but the latest increase brings it to the same level it was at the end of 2004.
- A petition to change the Russian constitution was dismissed in mid-September by the Central Election Commission. The change was intended to allow President Vladimir Putin to remain in power after his second term ends in 2008. Currently, a president is required to step down after consecutive four-year terms.
- Germany’s September unemployment rate fell 0.4 percent to 10.1 percent, as about 134,000 fewer people were looking for work than in August. The 10.1-percent rate is the lowest since October 2004, although analysts were expecting more people to have found employment.
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