Monetary Policy
EU's Prodi calls deficit reduction accord 'stupid'
FRANCE - European Commission President Romano Prodi called Europe's budget-deficit limits "stupid" and "rigid," sowing fresh divisions over how to save the European economy from recession.
Malta 'will have the euro once conditions are met'
MALTA - The Minister for Economic Services Josef Bonnici said Malta stands to benefit from the adoption of the single European currency, the euro, and that Malta will join the Eurozone once the conditions are met.
Fed member warns on inside analysis
US - Evaluations of public policy should be handled independently of the agency responsible for the policy, a member of the Federal Reserve Board said Wednesday at Western Michigan University.
Greece's Garganas hosts central bankers at club
GREECE - Bank of Greece Governor Nicholas Garganas is chairing a session of the Central Bank Governors' Club - which includes his counterparts of 16 Balkan, Black Sea and Central Asian nations - in the seaside resort of Nafplion on Friday.
Afghan c bank clarifies operations on new currency
AFGHANISTAN - Administrative Vice President of Afghan National Bank, Ghulam Ghouse Hadawi pledged on Wednesday that all old Afghani notes would be exchanged in the end despite mass complains about the slow distribution of the new currency.
Brazil's markets slide as c bank warns of turmoil
BRAZIL - Brazil's battered financial markets fell sharply on Wednesday as the Central Bank warned that the country's imminent government transition would be more turbulent than expected.
Ignore the ghost of deflation past
ARTICLE - Financial market crystal ball gazers are focusing on the danger of a double-dip world recession.
Economists get the idea
ARTICLE - Two Nobel prizewinners have worked out why people do not always think rationally. John is interested in politics, he likes to participate in debates and is eager to appear in the media. Is John a salesman or is he a member of parliament?
Wim Duisenberg on the prospects for EU enlargement
SPEECH - In the speech 'Perspectives on EU enlargement' made on 14 October Wim Duisenberg of the ECB said the prospect of EU accession has triggered reform in these countries with macroeconomic stability achieved through structural reforms. However,…
Ben Bernanke on asset price bubbles
SPEECH - In the speech 'Asset-Price "Bubbles" and Monetary Policy' made on 15 October Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said the Fed lacked the knowledge, foresight or precision tools to pre-empt a stock market bubble, "and even if it could identify…
Inflation target an option but not now - Hayami
JAPAN - Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami said on Wednesday that the central bank may consider an inflation-targeting policy in the future but not at the moment as Japanese prices continue to fall.
CBN chief speaks on ways to support WAMZ
NIGERIA - As part of plans towards the establishment of a common currency in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sub-region under one central bank next year, the director of research at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. O.J…
GCC seeks EU help in monetary union
SAUDI ARABIA - The GCC states have finally acknowledged difficulties besetting their most ambitious plan to merge their currencies and decided to resort to their main economic partner - the European Union - to guide them through the minefield towards the…
BOT chief downplays concern over weakening of baht
THAILAND - Bank of Thailand's Governor Pridiyathorn Devakula has downplayed mounting concern over the weakening of the baht against the US dollar, saying it would be a temporary phenomenon.
Fed's Stern sees steady growth for near term
US - Gary Stern, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, sees the economy growing at a relatively firm rate in coming months before growth accelerates in the second half of 2003.
US interest rate level not a problem - Fed's Guynn
US - Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Jack Guynn said on Tuesday U.S. interest rate levels were not hindering business or consumer spending, suggesting he sees little need for lower rates.
Fed 'lacks knowledge and tools' to burst bubbles
US - The Federal Reserve lacks the knowledge, foresight or precision tools it would need to pre-empt a stock market bubble, a senior Fed official said yesterday, and any attempt to do so would risk "severe collateral damage to the economy".
Tokyo urged to improve corporate governance
JAPAN - Japan's banks will never recover their health unless they undergo a drastic improvement in corporate governance similar to that imposed on South Korean financial institutions after the 1997 financial crisis, according to a Standard & Poor's…
Philadelphia Fed Business Review, 3rd Quarter 2002
REPORT - The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has published its regular Business Review for the Third Quarter 2002. How does a decentralized central bank work? The events of September 11 put the Federal Reserve System, the central bank of the United…
Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report, September 2002
REPORT - Germany's central bank, on 16 October published its Monthly Report for September 2002. The report shows a further increase in real gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of this year, although the rise on the first quarter remained…
Economic Review from the Kansas City Fed Bank
PUBLICATION - The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City has published the Third Quarter 2002 edition of its Economic Review. The Economic Review is a quarterly research publication with articles by Economic Research Staff on issues of relevance to the…
Bank of Canada Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Bank of Canada keeps target for the overnight rate at 2 3/4 per cent, 16 October.
George on the current state of the UK economy
SPEECH - In a speech made on 15 October, Sir Edward George of the Bank of England said internationally and in the UK the monetary policy debate has shifted back to the possible need for monetary stimulus. He said There had been a "nervous breakdown" in…
Setting the Record Straight: By Kenneth Rogoff
LETTER - Letter from Kenneth Rogoff, Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department, International Monetary Fund. Submitted to Le Monde but not published, 4 October 2002.