QUANTITATIVE EASING

The U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book revealed Wednesday how the sector was affected from mid-August through early October.

Asian markets opened higher Monday as investors focused attention on quarterly results. The biggest U.S. banks were scheduled to issue results this week.

The move, which was widely expected, came amid growing signs of recession in the Japanese economy and continuing worries over deflation.

A rate move this week depends on whether central bankers agree the economy has reached, or is on course to hit, the Fed’s major objectives.

The European Central Bank is worried a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy will have two detrimental effects on the global economy.

Weaker demand for some U.S. products is due, in part, to China's economic woes, some Federal Reserve districts say.

As global markets continue to stumble this week, economists question whether the U.S. is strong enough to move away from crisis-level interest rates.

Muted inflation could prevent the central bank from lifting rates in September.

A growing number of economists say events in Greece, China and Puerto Rico may cause the U.S. central bank to hold off on interest rate hikes planned for later in 2015.

The unemployment rate is falling, and so is the number of Americans who are underemployed, according to Friday’s U.S. jobs report.

Markets are now focusing on the central bank's semi-annual report on the economic and price outlook, due later on Thursday.

China's central bank is reportedly planning to implement its own version of quantitative easing, in the form of "pledged supplementary lending."

Recent easing -- and the halving of crude-oil prices, supposedly a windfall for consumers -- have not changed the global outlook all that much.

After a brief rebound in February, the index has now been back in negative territory for two consecutive months.

The ECB is almost certain to keep rates unchanged at record lows at its meeting later in the day.