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Euro € - Five economic tests have not started yet
UK - Chancellor Gordon Brown has quashed speculation that assessment of the five tests necessary for Britain's entry in the single currency have already begun and narrowly avoided a 'banana skin' during a BBC radio interview on 18 June.
Chilean economy minister leaves post for bank seat
CHILE - Chile's Economy Minister Jose de Gregorio announced late on 18 June that he will step down from his post in order to seek congressional approval to join the Central Bank's five-member monetary policymaking board.
Mervyn King at the Cardiff Business School, Wales
SPEECH - The Deputy Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King spoke at Cardiff University on 18 June. He suggested that growing imbalances in the UK economy risk sharp swings in inflation and growth and an uncontrollable fall in sterling.
Euro € - Warning on readiness for euro
USA - Oracle, the world's second largest software company, has warned that companies could hit an "information technology bottleneck" in the run-up to the introduction of euro notes and coins on 1 January.
Tax havens act to avoid sanctions
CARIBBEAN - Some Caribbean tax havens are tightening anti-money laundering rules in an attempt to avoid punitive action threatened by the world's biggest economies.
Euro-zone inflation over 3 percent for first time
EUROPE - Inflation in the 12-nation euro-zone soared to 3.4 percent in May, a surprisingly high increase that pushed the rate above 3 percent for the first time since the European single currency was launched in January 1999.
Welteke - UK exchange rate problem for euro entry
GERMANY - Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke said on 18 June the chances for a UK entry into European Monetary Union have increased with the re-election of the Labour government, but the current high exchange rate of sterling is a problem.
Bank of Japan makes policy board appointment
JAPAN - Shin Nakahara has been appointed to the policy board of the Bank of Japan. He succeeds Susumu Taketomi whose term has ended. Nakahara was deputy president of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
Monetary policy and financial markets
SPEECH - Professor Otmar Issing, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, has given a speech 'Monetary policy and financial markets' at the ECB Watchers Conference, Frankfurt, June 2001.
PPP and the real exchange rate - data evidence
RESEARCH - Georgios Chortareas and Rebecca Driver of the Bank of England have published a working paper titled "PPP and the real exchange rate - real interest rate differential puzzle revisited: evidence from non-stationary panel data
Riksbank publish 2001 Financial Stability Report
RESEARCH - The Sveriges Riksbank, Sweden's central bank, has published its Financial Stability Report for May 2001. They report that the banking sector appears well-equipped to manage the effects that could ensue from a general economic slowdown.
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.
German and French central bankers back strong euro
EUROPE - French and German central bankers have reacted to sharp rises in inflation within the euro-zone by reaffirming their support for a stronger euro and expressing confidence about the longer-term inflation outlook.
IMF Sri Lanka trip reviews economic data standard
SRI LANKA - A mission from the International Monetary Fund is in Sri Lanka to assess whether economic data reported by state institutions are transparent and conform to international standards, officials said on 15 June.
BOJ board keeps monetary policy unchanged
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept its already super-loose policy unchanged on 15 June, resisting political pressure for even more monetary firepower to stop the economy from deteriorating further.
Canada's inflation target setting could be better
CANADA - The Bank of Canada's new regime for setting inflation targets is an improvement on the old, but the bank could do even better, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute.
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.
Testimony of Fed Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson
US - Roger W. Ferguson, Jr on 13 June gave his statement of renomination to the Federal Reserve Board, before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate.
Hacker fears prompt security check for Bacs
UK - The bank system that runs direct debits and electronic payments, Bacs, is reviewing its security amid calls for tighter protection against hackers.
Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin - Summer 2001
RESEARCH - Stuart Berry and David England, both of the Bank of England, co-author a study in the quarterly bulletin 'Has there been a structural improvement in US productivity'.
PBC attacks international monetary system
UK - Strong criticism of the current international monetary system was expressed in a paper by an Assistant Governor of the People's Bank of China and delivered on his behalf at a conference on South-East Asia held at the Bank of England, 12 June.
Hungary introduces inflation targeting system
HUNGARY - The central bank council has approved that the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) operate a monetary system based on implicit inflation targeting, MNB president Zsigmond Jarai announced at a news conference 12 June.
No plan to change Japanese growth outlook
JAPAN - Japanese Minister of Finance Masajuro Shiokawa said on 13 June that at present, he is not considering revising the government's projection of 1.7 percent economic growth for fiscal year 2001, ending in March 2002.
Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin - Summer 2001
SURVEY - The Bank of England has published its Summer 2001 Quarterly Bulletin. The Bulletin contains the results of a survey conducted on behalf of the Bank in February 2001. The research, by NOP, surveyed public attitudes to inflation in the UK.