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Bank of Sierra Leone - Annual Report 2006
The Sierra Leonean economy grew by 7.8% in 2006. The growth was down to a strong mining industry, good relations with trade partners and sound economic policies, said the central bank.
Cyprus holds rates
The Central Bank of Cyprus decided to leave its benchmark rate at 4.5% on Monday.
Bahrain's payment system a success
The Central Bank of Bahrain said that its real time gross settlement (RTGS) payment system introduced on 9 August, has "dramatically speeded up the flow of money", leading to a more efficient financial sector.
Venezuela set to publicise new currency
The Venezuelan Central Bank will launch a nationwide campaign to familiarise consumers with its new notes and coins, which will come into circulation at the start of next year.
Iran to consider redenomination
The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran will look into the possibility of knocking three zeros off its rial currency.
Subprime reaction mirrors past crises - Greenspan
Alan Greenspan, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, has said that the reaction of bankers to the subprime crisis is identical to their behaviour during the 1987 crash and the near-collapse of the Long Term Capital Management hedge fund in 1998.
BIS Quarterly Review
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published the 'BIS Quarterly Review' on 3 September. It gave an overview of recent developments in financial markets, before turning in more detail to highlights from the latest BIS data on international…
Bosnia and Herzegovina - Annual Report 2006
Presenting the annual report for 2006 of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH), Kemal Kozaric, the governor, said that 2006 had been another successful year for the central bank.
Fed's Kroszner on the 1997 Asian crisis
Randall Kroszner, a governor of the Federal Reserve, said that he would "offer some thoughts about ways to analyse and assess the impact of banking crises on real economic activity."
Mboweni discusses role of forecasting
Tito Mboweni, the governor of the South African Reserve Bank, discussed the limitations of economic forecasting in a speech given in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Gulf may escape contagion
Rasheed Al Maraj, the governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain, said Gulf markets are unlikely to see a major fallout from the slump in USsubprime mortgages as most local companies have their core businesses in the area.
Russia hit by market turbulence
The net capital inflow to Russia hit a record $67.1 billion in the first half of 2007, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has said.
Poland looking to join ERM2, says Skrzypek
Poland will be able to cut its general government deficit to below 3% of GDP by 2009, as pledged by the government, which would allow it to join the exchange rate mechanism ERM2 the same year, deems National Bank of Poland (NBP) governor Slawomir…
New governor for Iran
Tahmasb Mazaheri, a former Iranian finance minister, was appointed yesterday as head of the country's central bank.
Riksbank to publish repo path, hikes rates
The executive board of the Riksbank will publish forecasts for the future repo rate path and a number of other important variables in connection with each monetary policy meeting. The central bank decided on Thursday to raise the repo rate by 25 basis…
Bank of Russia to widen eligible collateral
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) intends to expand the list of paper involved in the refinancing mechanism with 'securities of non-rated borrowers', according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant. "This should make life easier for second- and third-tier…
Japanese deputy discusses housing
Kazumasa Iwata, a deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, discussed links between the housing market and monetary policy at a symposium sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City on 1 September.
Globalisation's impact on UK inflation
The author of this paper uses the International Monetary Fund's new Global Economy Model (GEM) to estimate the importance of various factors, which are used to explain the differences in the trends in core inflation and relative prices in the UK, the…
MAS - Annual Report 2006-2007
Presenting the annual report for 2006-2007 of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Goh Chok Toy, the chairman of the central bank, said 2006 was a significant year for Singapore and MAS.
Fed's Beige Book published
"Outside of real estate, reports that the turmoil in financial markets had affected economic activity during the survey period were limited," the Fed said in its latest "Beige Book" on economic conditions, featuring reports from the 12 regional Fed…
Credit crunch has "sown seeds of downturn"
Jon Moulton, a well-known private equity investor, said that the credit crunch had " sown the seeds of a major downturn," the Financial Times reported.
Bank of Canada holds rates
The Bank of Canada said on 5 September that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 4.5%. The operating band for the overnight rate is unchanged, and the bank rate remains 4.75%.
Ex-Fed governor Gramlich dies
Former Federal Reserve governor Edward Gramlich has died of leukemia. He was 68. Gramlich served the Fed from 1997 to 2005.
ECB holds rates, offers injection
The European Central Bank (ECB) decided Thursday to keep its benchmark rate at 4%, after promising extra liquidity to the markets Wednesday.