Opinion/Monetary Policy
ECB Press Release - Euro frontloading
EUROPE - The European Central Bank issued a press release 5 July titled Frontloading of euro banknotes to central banks outside the euro area.
ECB Press Conference
EUROPE - Introductory statement Willem F. Duisenberg, President of the European Central Bank, Christian Noyer, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt am Main, 5 July, with a transcript of the questions and answers.
The IMF under pressure
SPECIAL REPORT - This week's special report looks at the future of the international financial institutions, in particular, the International Monetary Fund. This is a critical time for the IMF as it battles with the new administration in the US while at…
Comment on the Fed's rate cut decision
UK - The Financial Times in London, 28 June, has published a comment on the US Federal Reserve Board's decision to cut it's key interest rate measure by 0.25 percent.
IMF - Quiet caution for Argentina's currency shift
ARTICLE - Centralbanknet's report on the IMF's Stanley Fischer who has visited Argentina. He has warned that the planned Argentine currency move may set a worrying precedent.
History of recessions contradicts Greenspan
ARTICLE - David Leonhardt, writing in the New York Times, says that Federal Reserve Board Governor, Alan Greenspan, is wrong to be optimistic about the prospects for the US economy.
NBER - US 'recession' may already have peaked
ARTICLE - In a letter to the editor of the Financial Times in London, Martin Feldstein, President of the National Bureau of Economic Research in the US says that even if a recession occurs it will be a long time before it becomes official.
History shows multiple currencies breed corruption
ARGENTINA - History suggests that multiple currency regimes like Argentina's two-tiered foreign exchange system distort economic activity, invite corruption and in some cases can cause mass amounts of foreign reserves to vanish overnight.
Europe can learn from UK's decimal currency switch
UK - The conversion to a decimal currency in Britain in 1971 may have lessons for the introduction of euro notes and coins in January next year.
Countdown to the single currency
REPORT - CENTRALBANKNET'S SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND'S 'PRACTICAL ISSUES ARISING FROM THE EURO' REPORT, JUNE 2001.
Too much credit?
ARTICLE - Despite a plunge in US consumer confidence over the new year, it now seems that 2001 will see not a recession, but modest growth in the US. Nothing to worry about then? Well no.
THE BIS REPORT
ANNUAL REPORT - CENTRALBANKNET'S SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF THE BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENT'S 71st ANNUAL REPORT 2000/01.
Interview with Horst Kohler
INTERVIEW - Following a string of financial crises from Mexico through Asia to Argentina, the reputation of the International Monetary Fund has taken a severe beating. IMF Managing Director Horst Kohler admits the fund may have made mistakes in the past,…
Euro is a safeguard for UK
ARTICLE - Soon to depart Bank of England MPC member DeAnne Julius sees the euro as a safeguard for UK industry. Speaking recently she considers her own future, Britain's European prospects and the set-up at the ECB.
UK General Election - Conservative pledges
UK - The UK Conservative party have published their manifesto. In it they spell out what they would do if elected to government in the general election to be held on 7 June. Michael Portillo,the shadow chancellor of the exchequer, sets out their policies.
UK General Election - Labour pledges
UK - The UK Labour party published its election manifesto on 15 May. They review their changes made to the Bank of England and describe their policy on the single european currency, the euro.
Central Banking Journal May 2001 edition now out
Central Banking Vol. XI, No. 4 was published 8 May 2001. This edition includes exclusive interviews with Maurice O'Connell, Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, Syahril Sabirin, Governor of Bank Indonesia and Hans Tietmeyer, former Bundesbank…
IMF Concludes Article IV with South Africa
SOUTH AFRICA - On 19 March 2001, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund concluded the Article IV consultation with South Africa.
US households more buoyant than generally believed
ARTICLE - The financial position of US households ranks high on the list of concerns about the economic and financial outlook. The fear is that a negative personal saving rate and record debt-to-income levels point to a potential sharp retrenchment in…
Rate to be cut before inflation hits target
REPORT - A poll showed that the biggest group of economists still believes the ECB will cut its benchmark rate from 4.75 percent next month even though inflation is heading up, not down.
Making EMU Work: Some Lessons from the 1990s
ARTICLE - Jorg Bibow lectures at the University of Hamburg on central banking and European integration. This working paper investigates the lessons learned from Europe's convergence process of the 1990s.
Government and Innovation Policy in South Africa
ARTICLE - In this article Sunil Mani of the United Nations University, Institute for New Technologies analyses the South African Experience of Government and Innovation Policy since 1994.
Commission paper highlights euro challenges
A new publication by the European Commission surveys the first two years of the euro's existence and highlights some of the challenges ahead.
Optimal horizons for inflation targeting
ARTICLE - This paper investigates the problem of selecting an optimal horizon for inflation targeting in the United Kingdom. It was written by Nicoletta Batini and Edward Nelson of the Monetary Policy Committee Unit, Bank of England.