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Getting to the heart of central bank indecisivenes
ARTICLE - A letter published in the Financial Times on Apr 11 comments on an article published in the FT on Apr 10 "Avoiding interest rate surprises" which gave a personal view by European member of parliament Sir Christopher Huhne.
Ex-Yugo states agree on division of gold reserves
YUGOSLAVIA - The five states that emerged from ex-Yugoslavia have agreed on the division of gold assets worth some $477 million, Yugoslavia's central bank governor said on Apr 11.
Finance minister McCreevy defends Irish budget
IRELAND - Ireland's Finance Minister, Charlie McCreevy, whose budget was singled out for a reprimand by the European Commission, said in front of euro MPs that he was "amused" by the criticism, especially as other member states had debt to GDP ratios…
ECB keep rates at 4.75%, despite pressure
EUROPE - The European Central Bank on Apr 11 maintained interest rates at 4.75% because of inflationary pressures in the eurozone, but the central bank acknowledged that risks on the downside remained.
ECB's anti-fraud committee-annual report
REPORT - The ECB has published the annual report of its anti-fraud committee, which is chaired by Mr. Justice John Murray. The committee concludes "it has not found any cause for concern with the functioning of the established internal control structure…
Managing public expenditure-transition economies
BOOK - The OECD has published a book "Managing Public Expenditure: A Reference Book for Transition Countries". It presents a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of all aspects of public expenditure management from the preparation of the budget to the…
Monetary policy for an open economy-McCallum
ARTICLE - Bennett McCallum and Edward Nelson have written an article "Monetary Policy for an Open Economy: An Alternative Framework with Optimizing Agents and Sticky Prices". The authors use an alternative approach for constructing open economy models by…
New Basel Accord reduces power of bank regulators
CENTRAL BANK RESEARCH - Wimboh Santoso from Bank Indonesia has published a paper "Capital adequacy assessment with respect to market risk". He concludes that the adoption of VaR in the banking industry will reduce the power of regulators to control banks…
ECB should avoid market surprises-Chris Huhne
ARTICLE - In a guest column in the Financial Times on Apr 10, euro MP Chris Huhne says that the European Central Bank needs a clearer reporting process for its decisions on monetary policy.
Expanded monetary union in West Africa
ARTICLE - In an article published in the IMF's quarterly magazine, IMF economists R.D. Asante and Paul Robert Masson talk with Jacqueline Irving of the IMF's external relations department about the pros and cons of expanded monetary union in West Africa.
Capital inflows and central bank's policy response
CENTRAL BANK RESEARCH - Melike Altinkemer from the research department at the Central Bank of Turkey has written a paper "Capital inflows and the central bank's response". In this paper, capital inflow episode after the liberalization of capital account…
Inflation targeting improved-CNB Niedermayer
CZECH REPUBLIC - The effectiveness of the inflation targeting of the Czech National Bank CNB should be improved with the shift to targeting of overall inflation and setting a corridor for price movements up to 2005, CNB vice-governor Ludek Niedermayer…
Ex-central bank official to lead Ito-Yokado bank
JAPAN - Ito-Yokado Co Ltd, Japan's biggest retail group, said on Apr 10 it would appoint central bank veteran Takashi Anzai, 59, as president of its new IY Bank.
Oman $50 million boost for Lebanese cbank reserves
LEBANON - Oman deposited $50 million with Lebanon's central bank on Apr 6 to boost foreign currency reserves and to express its support for the government's economic measures, reported the local Daily Star newspaper.
France backs Trichet, but Lemierre in wings-paper
FRANCE - Bank of France Governor Jean-Claude Trichet remains France's choice to succeed Wim Duisenberg as president of the ECB, but another Frenchman Jean Lemierre is an "option," French finance ministry sources told Les Echos.
Overhaul at Bank of Thailand
ARTICLE - In an article published in the Far Eastern Economic Review, ShawnCrispin considers the impact that Chatumongkol Sonakul has had on the Bank of Thailand since his appointment as governor.
Greenspan's hero image 'is a liability'
UNITED STATES - The Financial Times on Apr 10 reports that Alan Greenspan's heroic image poses a liability for markets. The article is based on a report by UK economist Marcus Miller which was presented at the Royal Economic Society's annual conference…
Singdollar policy has not changed - MAS
SINGAPORE - The Monetary Authority of Singapore says it has not changed its policy of allowing a gradual and modest appreciation of the trade-weighted Singapore dollar within a policy band.
Taiwan cbank to adopt relaxed monetary policy
TAIWAN - Taiwan's central bank, the Central Bank of China, will relax its currency policy rather than adopting a zero interest rate like Japan, since domestic prices were stable and demand had yet to fully recover.
US is not in recession, says US Treasury O'Neill
UNITED STATES - The U.S. economy continues to expand moderately, successfully skirting recession, and in fact doing remarkably well in terms of providing job opportunities, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said on Apr 9.
Argentina bond can count as bank reserves-cbank
ARGENTINA - Argentina's central bank said on Apr 9 it would allow banks to count investments in a new government bond as part of their minimum reserve requirements.
RBA governor talks up Australian economy
AUSTRALIA - Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Ian Macfarlane said on Apr 10 that he remained optmistic about growth in 2001 and that recent rate cuts are aimed at protecting the economy from a global slowdown.
Clementi-Basel Accord must avoid pro-cyclicality
UNITED KINGDOM - The world's banks and the financial system as a whole should make sure risk-sensitive capital requirements set out in the new Basel Accord don't aggravate cyclical economic downturns, Bank of England deputy governor David Clementi said…
Buba annual report-global risks to growth
GERMANY - In its annual report published on Apr 10, the Deutsche Bundesbank said that German and Eurozone growth would continue but that the downside risks had increased.