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Comment: Unravelling the BoJ message
The Bank of Japan put an end to its "quantitative easing" policy last week. Although the timing was slightly ahead of expectations, the move itself was widely anticipated. Attention has now turned to unravelling the implications of the central bank's new…
Malaysia's Zeti gets new five-year term
Malaysian central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz's term in office has been extended for another five years, effective from 1 May, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Finance on Friday 10 March.
Central Bank of Turkey governor named - report
A press report on Thursday 9 March said the replacement has been chosen for Sureyya Serdengecti, after he resigns on 13 March as governor of Turkey's central bank.
Keep politics out of Bank of Spain, says PP leader
People's Party (PP) leader Mariano Rajoy said on Wednesday 8 March that he does not agree that Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordoez, the current secretary of state for internal revenue, should be the next governor of the Bank of Spain.
Bernanke on community banking & bank supervision
In the speech 'Community banking and community bank supervision in the twenty-first century' given on 8 March Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said the rapid growth in commercial real-estate loans made by community banks bears watching.
Illiquidity in the interbank payment system
The March 2006 New York Fed Staff Report "Illiquidity in the interbank payment system following wide-scale disruptions" shows how the interbank payment system can become illiquid following wide-scale disruptions.
Norges Bank - Annual Report 2004
According to Norges Bank's Annual Report 2004, after a moderate slowdown in the first half of 2003, growth in the Norwegian economy picked up markedly in 2004.
Canada's Macklem on renewing the IMF
In the speech 'Renewing the IMF: Some lessons from modern central banking' given on 9 March Tiff Macklem of the Bank of Canada said the IMF should also play a role in setting the "rules of the game" in the international financial system, including…
Bank of Japan takes big risk with policy change
According to this article published on Friday 10 March, by ditching its quantitative easing policy the Bank of Japan may be making one of the biggest mistakes in its history.
Comment: Measuring financial fragility
Central banks and regulators have created well-staffed financial stability departments, producing voluminous reports and reviews. However, policymakers are not always sure what they are aiming at in this opaque, but systemically important, area. New…
Bank of Japan ends quantitative-easing policy
The Bank of Japan voted 7-1 to end its five-year-old super-easy monetary policy on Thursday 9 March at the end of a two-day meeting, but said it will maintain short-term interest rates near zero until its next meeting in April.
IMF upholds sanctions against Zimbabwe
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund met Wednesday 8 March to review Zimbabwe's overdue financial obligations to the Fund and consider the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.
Bank of Japan's statement on policy guidelines
Following is the full text of the Bank of Japan's statement on its change in monetary policy guidelines, Thursday 9 March.
RBNZ leaves OCR unchanged at 7.25 per cent
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced on Thursday 9 March that its Official Cash Rate (OCR) will remain on hold at 7.25 per cent.
Liebscher says EU integration must not be hampered
National Bank of Austria governor Klaus Liebscher said in an interview that EU integration must not be hampered by protectionist measures to fight cross-border mergers in some countries.
New vice-governor for Slovak central bank
The National Bank of Slovakia is to get a new vice-governor, the Slovak Spectator reported.
PBOC says US pressure not a factor on yuan
A People's Bank of China official was quoted on Thursday 9 March as saying that pressure from the US is not a factor under consideration in determining the yuan's exchange rate.
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Mar/Apr 2006
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for Mar/Apr 2006 includes the article 'Macroeconomic news and real interest rates'. Economic news affects the perceptions of investors, forecasters, and policymakers about the strength or weakness of the…
ECB Monthly Bulletin, March 2006
The European Central Bank published its March 2006 Monthly Bulletin on Thursday. In the report the ECB said the decline of the euro and relatively low interest rates contributed to the strong performance of euro zone stock markets last year.
RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement, March 2006
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand published its March 2006 Monetary Policy Statement on 9 March. The report said that economic indicators are now clearly signalling a slowdown, following New Zealand's longest economic expansion in 30 years.
The evolving inflation process: an overview
This BIS Working Paper reviews analytical work carried out by central banks that participated in the Autumn Meeting of Central Bank Economists on "The evolving inflation process" which the BIS hosted on 28-29 October 2005.
Central Bank of Oman - Annual Report 2004
According to the Central Bank of Oman's Annual Report 2004, the macroeconomic environment of Oman in 2004 was characterized by impressive economic growth, low inflation, financial stability, and most importantly, steady progress towards diversification…
ECB warns on further Asian reserves build-up
The ECB said in a paper published Wednesday 8 March that a further build-up of foreign exchange reserves in Asia could lead to problems such as inflation pressures and asset price bubbles.
Comment: Has the ECB become more credible?
A recent New York Fed staff paper finds that market perceptions of the ECB's "inflation aversion" have improved significantly over the last six years, reflecting the idea that monetary policy has been guided by a dedication to price stability.