Interest rate

The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate Wednesday for the fourth time this year to reflect the U.S. economy's continued strength but signaled that it expects to slow its rate hikes next year.

The interest rates in Turkey will drop newt month, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak has projected, also saying that he expected to see a "record" current account surplus for October.

The Board of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) decided at its meeting on Tuesday to maintain the key interest rate at the level of 2.50pct per annum and to maintain the current levels of the mandatory minimum reserves for liabilities in lei and in foreign currencies of credit institutions, the central bank announced.

The Turkish Central Bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Oct. 25 as expected, after a mammoth 6.25 percentage point increase that has helped the lira recoup some of its losses this year.

A drop in Greek bank shares was caused by external factors, not the health of the country's banks, the governor of the Bank of Greece said on Wednesday.

Greek banking stocks have lost more than 40 percent so far this year, and the selling pressure grew in recent days. Analysts blamed the European Union's conflict with Italy over its proposed budget.

With the United States economy still strong, the Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate on Sept. 26 for the third time this year but showed no indication it would be more aggressive in efforts to head off inflation.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Europe's next crisis could originate in the real estate market, European Central Bank supervisor Daniele Nouy said in an interview with a Latvian news agency, adding that banks are better prepared to handle one than they were a decade ago.

How do developed economies maintain their low interest rates?

A number of problems have been hindering businesses to raise their competitiveness and to take new investment decisions in Turkey, including a weaker Turkish Lira, rising inflation rates and high interest rates, the head of the country's to business association has said.

Turkish lira collapsed by another 5 percent against the dollar on Wednesday, reflecting investors' concerns about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's controversial monetary policy.

The Turkish central bank is under pressure to hold an extraordinary meeting to raise interest rates ahead of the planned June 7 meeting, but it is undesirable, as Erdogan wants low interest rates.