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Regional knowledge presents barriers to banks
Local banks tend to flourish because asymmetric information makes entry difficult for newcomers, research published by the Bank of Italy concludes.
Bank of Spain - Annual Report 2007
The greater flexibility achieved in the Spanish labour market in recent years has largely been the result of the galvanising effect exerted by immigrant workers, the Bank of Spain states in its latest Annual Report.
Regulators must adopt global outlook
The real challenge for the world's financial regulators lies in managing cross-border crises, new research published by the Riksbank states.
Libor misrepresents market rates, poll finds
The London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), a measure of interbank borrowing costs often used to gauge financial market stress, fails to reflect actual money-market rates for cash, traders say.
SNB opts to hold rates
The Swiss National Bank left its target range unchanged on Thursday, arguing that the global economic slowdown would dampen inflationary pressures in the medium term.
Chief economist to succeed Lomax as BoE deputy
Charles Bean, the chief economist at the Bank of England, will replace Rachel Lomax as deputy governor responsible for monetary policy when she steps down at the end of June.
SNB wants big banks to hold more capital
The Swiss National Bank has urged the country's regulator to impose more stringent capital requirements on UBS and Credit Suisse, the two biggest banks in Switzerland.
BoE's Gieve to leave following stability changes
Sir John Gieve, the Bank of England's deputy governor responsible for financial stability, will step down once changes to the Bank's financial stability role are in place.
IMF on how to insure against external shocks
A new International Monetary Fund paper finds the level of reserves required to self-insure against external shocks for two of the world's most vulnerable regions.
Canada reviews financial stability
Tensions in Canadian credit markets have been somewhat less severe than those in the United States, the latest Financial Stability Review from the Bank of Canada concludes.
Settlement risk in Asian FX markets "remains high
Research published by the Bank for International Settlements calls for more extensive use of intra-regional currencies after finding that settlement risk remains high in Asian foreign exchange markets.
HKMA uncovers securitisation trends
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority's latest Quarterly Bulletin includes a discussion of the results of a survey, which offers perspectives on the future of securitisation.
One rate hike enough: ECB's Bini Smaghi
The European Central Bank (ECB) looks increasingly likely to raise rates just once in the coming months, after Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, a member of the institution's executive board, said a single 25 basis-point rate hike will suffice to bring inflation back…
Russia seeks greater gains for SWF
Senior Russian politicians have backed plans to create a government agency to enable its sovereign wealth fund to pursue a riskier investment strategy, according to media reports.
PMA sets up scholarship scheme
The Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) will offer PhD scholarships to the state's brightest students in a bid to strengthen its research and monetary policy department.
De La Rue sells cash systems business to Carlyle
Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, looks set to buy the cash systems business of De La Rue, the biggest private printer of banknotes, for £360m ($704m).
UK rate-setters mulled June rise
Several members of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee considered raising rates in June on the back of poor inflation data.
Productivity is the priority for Fiji
Savenaca Narube, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji, called for the authorities to increase economic growth by raising productivity.
RBA justifies third-straight rate hold
Australia's monetary-policy makers concluded that, on current policy settings, the necessary moderation in demand growth was likely to occur and so left interest rates unchanged at 7.25% for the third meeting in a row.
External supervision enhances governance: IMF
A new paper from the International Monetary Fund finds that the likelihood of establishing adequate governance arrangements is higher when the supervisor is located outside the central bank.
Fed's Lacker: US may avoid recession
Growth has been slow for 2008, but the US has avoided a recession and the odds of a severe downturn appear to have fallen, said Jeffrey Lacker, the president of Richmond Fed.
Turkey raises rates to 16.25%
The Central Bank of Turkey added 50 basis points to the cost of borrowing on Monday in its first policy vote since abandoning its 4% inflation target.
Fed accused of stalling on Chinese bank licences
Chinese officials have said the Federal Reserve is delaying the approval of banking licences for two of its biggest banks as part of a political ploy.
Online petition set up to stop ECB rate hikes
A French economist has set up an online petition to muster opposition to the European Central Bank's likely rate hike in July.