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German parliament approves Bundesbank board cuts
The upper house of the German parliament has approved legislation to allow two seats to be cut from the board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, the country's central bank.
Chicago Fed paper on mobile payments
Will mobile payments go the way of the stalled smart-card revolution of the 1990s? This Chicago Fed letter looks at these new payments fit into the larger payment system.
Dealing with globalisation - Iceland's Oddsson
Opening a conference in Iceland the governor of the central bank, David Oddsson, set out what he sees as the main challenges for small open economies with independent currencies in dealing with globalisation.
SARB raises rates as inflation soars
The South African Reserve Bank raised the key repo interest rate by 50 basis points to 9.5% on 7 June, after inflation surged through the upper band of the central bank's 3% to 6% target range in April.
Speech by Riksbank's berg
Speaking at a meeting at Handelsbanken in Stockholm, Sveriges Riksbank deputy governor Svante berg argued that "productivity will probably show a slower increase in the future. Combined with higher wage increases, this indicates higher inflationary…
Federal Reserve: Annual Report
The Federal Reserve released its 93rd annual report on 6 June, in which it said "The US economy turned in another solid performance in 2006, although the pattern of growth was uneven."
HKMA: Annual Report
A 9.5% return on the exchange fund and the establishment of payment system links in renminbi and ringitt were among the highlights of 2006, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's 216-page review of the year.
Interview with Malta's Bonello
In a recent interview, the governor of Malta's central bank, Michael Bonello, sought to assuage fears that the changeover to the euro in 2008 would lead to price rises.
Bank of England maintains bank rate at 5.5%
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted to maintain the official bank rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 5.5%.
World Bank issues Russian inflation warning
The World Bank has warned that a massive influx of capital into Russia in the wake of major bank loans and share offerings by Russian companies could result in a loss of control over inflation.
Brazil cuts lending rate to record low of 12%
Following the recovery of the Brazilian currency, which has held inflation at an eight-year low, the central bank lowered the benchmark lending rate by half a percentage point to a record low of 12%.
Indonesia cuts for twelfth time since May 2006
As widely expected, Bank Indonesia reduced its policy interest rate - used as a reference for bill sales - by a quarter point to 8.5% today, taking advantage of the lowest inflation rate in six months. It was the twelfth rate cut since May 2006.
NZ interest rate up to record 8%
The markets were taken by surprise on 7 June when the New Zealand central bank raised its key interest rate to a record 8% from 7.75%, in efforts to stem inflation.
South Africa's reserves surge in one month
New data from the South African Reserve Bank has revealed that net gold and foreign exchange reserves rose to $25.48bn in May from $24.59bn the previous month. Gross reserves were also up to $27.85bn from $27,02bn.
ECB lifts rates to 4%
The European Central Bank has raised its key interest rates by 25 basis points to 4%, taking rates in the eurozone to their highest level for six years. This latest increase means that interest rates have doubled in 18 months.
Cyprus surprises with unchanged repo rate
The Central Bank of Cyprus has raised the interest rate on its marginal lending facility and on the overnight deposit facility by 25 basis points. However, the rate on the central bank's main refinancing operations (repo rate) remains unchanged at 4.5%.
Risks rising for emerging markets - RBI's Reddy
Y.V. Reddy, the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, has warned that new financial market players and instruments, as well as greater market integration, mean that the risk of contagion to emerging economies may have grown.
Bank Indonesia more bullish
Bank Indonesia, the country's central bank, has upgraded its national economic growth forecast for this year from 6% to 6.2%. The latest inflation figures are also better than those forecast by the central bank.
Polish inflation within target range - governor
The governor of the National Bank of Poland, Slawomir Skrzypek, says inflation should remain within the central bank's target range of 1.5% to 3.5% until mid-2008.
Australia keeps rate at six-year high
Glenn Stevens, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, announced on 6 June that the central bank would keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the sixth meeting in succession. Rates remain unchanged at a six-year high of 6.25%.
Asian infrastructure needs - Ng speech
"The immense yet unmet need for infrastructure investments in Asia" combined with Asian governments' desire to develop their capital markets constitute an ideal environment for infrastructure capital markets to take off, according to Ng Nam Sin,…
ECB: Inflation-linked bonds benefit central banks
In a recent occasional working paper the European Central Bank argues that "the issuance of inflation-linked bonds has explicit benefits for central banks."
Denmark's Annual Report
Denmark's central bank started work on a new note series in 2006, the annual report notes, with the series planned to start hitting the streets in 2009.
Israel's Fischer on new banking law
Addressing the Knesset, Stanley Fischer, the governor of the Bank of Israel, urged lawmakers to push forward with a new law on the supervision of banking fees by the Supervisor of Banks.