AFP Australia’s central bank kept interest rates at a record low on Tuesday in the first meeting for newly-minted chief Philip Lowe, amid solid domestic growth and signs that commodity prices have passed their trough. Australian growth has remained robust despite the economy’s uneven transition away from mining-driven expansion, but a recent run of sluggish inflation figures drove the ...

  AFP India’s central bank cut interest rates to a six-year low on Tuesday, as the International Monetary Fund predicted the Asian giant would maintain its position as the world’s fastest-growing major economy. The rate decision was expected to please Narendra Modi’s government who had become frustrated at the pace with which recently-departed Reserve Bank of India chief Raghuram Rajan ...

  Bloomberg Laurentian Bank of Canada, claiming traditional banking is becoming “obsolete,” will merge 50 branches and eliminate about 300 positions in the next 18 months as part of a restructuring. Laurentian must evolve to meet the changing needs of customers, who have reduced branch visits, the Montreal-based lender said Wednesday in a statement. Increased economic and regulatory hurdles, along ...