Central Banking staff
Follow Central Banking
Articles by Central Banking staff
OECD says ECB rates still below neutral level
The OECD said Thursday 4 January European Central Bank interest rates are still below a 'neutral' level and continue to stimulate activity in the euro zone.
New NBP chief nominated
Poland's president on Wednesday 3 January nominated Slawomir Skrzypek, acting president of a major Polish bank, as the next head of the National Bank of Poland.
Vietnam widens currency trading band
Vietnam's central bank has widened the band inside which its currency is allowed to trade against the US dollar in a move to create a more flexible exchange rate system, state media reported Thursday 4 January.
Fed minutes show inflation concern
Federal Reserve officials continued to view the current rates of core inflation as "uncomfortably high" at their meeting last month, minutes released Wednesday 3 January showed.
HKMA Quarterly Bulletin, December 2006
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has published the December 2006 issue of its Quarterly Bulletin. The Bulletin includes the article 'Financial integration in Asia' which shows that the level of regional integration of Asia's capital and banking markets…
Richmond Fed's Economic Quarterly, Fall 2006
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has published its Economic Quarterly for Fall 2006. The latest issue includes the article 'Changes in the size distribution of US banks: 1960-2005' which documents the large changes in the size distribution and size…
BoE's Blanchflower on the impact of migration
In the speech 'The impact of the recent migration from Eastern Europe on the UK economy' given on 4 January David Blanchflower of the Bank of England said the recent inflow of migrants from Eastern Europe seems to have reduced the UK's natural rate of…
St Louis Fed's Regional Economist, January 2007
The St Louis Fed's Regional Economist for January 2007 includes the article 'The economics of eminent domain'. The forced sale of homes for private development usually results in a zero-sum gain and may actually hinder development in the area, economists…
St Louis Fed's Central Banker, Winter 2006
The St. Louis Fed has published the Winter 2006 edition of its Central Banker magazine. In the article 'Anecdotal information makes raw data breathe' First VP Dave Sapenaro looks at the sources of information that inform Bank President Bill Poole when…
RBI's Reddy on dynamics of balance of payments
In the speech 'Dynamics of balance of payments in India' given on 16 December Y V Reddy of the Reserve Bank of India said the gross volume of capital account transactions has been rising at a rapid pace, with bi-directional flows.
ECB member bank buys gold
The Daily Telegraph in London reported Wednesday 3 January that a member of the European Central Bank system had begun buying bullion, the first such purchase in years.
WAMZ members commit to single currency
According to this article from This Day, published Tuesday 2 January, West African Monetary Zone member countries have expressed commitment to move forwards to a single monetary zone by 2009.
China to launch SHIBOR to develop benchmark rate
China will launch the Shanghai Interbank Offer Rate (SHIBOR) from Thursday 4 January, in a move to develop a benchmark rate for the interbank market, the People's Bank of China said.
Indonesia appoints two new BI deputies
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has signed a decree, appointing Budi Rochadi and Muliaman D Hadad as deputy governors of Bank Indonesia, Asia Pulse reported.
Thailand 'underestimated' currency controls
Bank of Thailand governor Tarisa Watanagase has said the BoT underestimated the impact of its proposed currency controls on the stock market, which posted record losses recently.
PBOC's Wu expects Fed rate cuts in 2007
The US Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates in 2007 and that will reinforce the dollar's downwards bias and the yuan's tendency to rise, a senior Chinese central banker was reported by the Financial News as saying.
BoJ's Muto says rate hikes support growth
A hawkish monetary policy by the Bank of Japan would be consistent with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's emphasis on pro-growth policies, central bank deputy governor Toshiro Muto told the Nikkei daily on Wednesday 3 January.
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Jan/Feb 2007
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for January/February 2007 includes the article 'Milton Friedman, 1912-2006: Some personal reflections.' This article by William Poole says that the recent articles on Milton did not adequately emphasize an…
Kansas City Fed's TEN, Winter 2007
The Winter 2007 issue of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's TEN takes a look at the way Americans save. It says that while rates are low, they might not be as dire as predicted.
Paper on central bank interventions
The December 2006 Working Paper "Central bank interventions, communication and interest rate policy in emerging European economies" analyses the effectiveness of foreign exchange interventions in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia…
Report says BoJ to consider rate rise this month
The Bank of Japan will likely consider raising interest rates as early as this month, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Monday 1 January.
ECB's Liikanen sees inflation risks
European Central Bank Governing Council member, Erkki Liikanen, said there were still upside risks to inflation in the eurozone, Finnish national broadcaster YLE reported on Tuesday 2 January.
Sweden's Riksbank unanimous on recent rate rise
Minutes released Tuesday 2 January showed Swedish central bank policymakers were unanimous in raising the repo interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.00 percent on 14 December.
Slovenia brings in euro with no hiccups
Slovenia successfully adopted Europe's single currency, the euro, on Monday 1 January, crowning its 15-year transition from a republic in socialist Yugoslavia.