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RBI third quarter review
On January 24 Reserve Bank of India governor, Dr Y Venugopal Reddy, presented the central bank's third quarter review of annual monetary policy for the year 2005-06.
Counterfeit notes in Solomon Islands
The Central Bank of Solomon Islands has reported the circulation of counterfeit notes throughout the country's banking system. The central bank's currency and operations manager, Daniel Haridi told the national broadcaster that it is hard to say how many…
German gold debate rages on
The debate in Germany about the Bundesbank's gold reserves and salary bonuses is continuing.
FATF to look at Russian banks
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental anti money laundering body, plans to carry out a large-scale check on the Russian banking system in April 2007, Russian Central Bank deputy chairman Viktor Melnikov said earlier this week.
Indonesian rates on hold
The Central Bank of Indonesia yesterday left interest rates unchanged at 12.75% for a second month, as economic growth slowed down. Six interest rate increases since July have helped the rupiah recover from a four-year low on August 30 last year amid…
Germany to issue inflation-linked bonds
The German government plans to issue inflation-linked bonds this year, but is hoping for an uptick in inflation expectations to time the sale Gerhard Schleif, the head of the nation's debt agency, told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview yesterday.
Italy welcomes bank merger
Le Figaro reported yesterday that the Italian government has welcomed the takeover bid for BNL, the country's sixth-largest bank, by French banking group BNP Paribas. The paper quoted Italian finance minister, Giulio Tremonti, as saying he regards it as…
New conflict over Bundesbank bonus cuts
The new spat between the German finance ministry and the Bundesbank has developed over cuts in the compensation schemes of the central bank's staff.
Comment: Slovenia set for the euro
The ringing endorsement Slovenia recently received from the European Commission and its economic and monetary affairs commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, underlines the growing consensus that the country will be the next member of the eurozone. However, like…
Bernanke's remarks at swearing-in ceremony
Ben Bernanke made some brief remarks after being sworn in as chairman of the US Federal Reserve by president, George W Bush, on February 6, 2002.
Trichet on the benefits of flexibility
In this speech given at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London on February 6, 2006, the president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, outlined three main reasons why structural reforms across Europe need to speeded up.
IMF's Rato on global imbalances
In a speech at the University of California at Berkeley last week the International Monetary Fund's managing director, Rodrigo de Rato, said the United States should "tackle its current account deficit by increasing domestic saving". Reducing the fiscal…
Fed's Fischer on global growth dynamics
In this speech given at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London on February 6, 2006, the president of the Dallas Fed, Richard W. Fisher, suggests that the United States will remain the growth engine for the global economy for some time to come.
New book on South Africa from the IMF
The International Monetary Fund has published a new book entitled, "Post-Apartheid South Africa: The First Ten Years". The authors, Michael Nowak and Luca Ricci, argue that "in successfully navigating the transition from apartheid to democracy, the…
More hikes ahead - Sweden's Ingves
New Swedish central bank governor, Stefan Ingves, said on Monday 6 February that he expected a continued gradual increase in interest rates. The speech, given at Umea University, was Ingves' first public appearance since his appointment at the start of…
Slovenians happy with Commission's findings
The Slovenia's finance minister and central bank have expressed their satisfaction with the European Commission's upbeat assessment of the country's preparations for joining the euro.
SARB's Mboweni highlights inflation risks
The South African Reserve Bank last week left the repurchase rate unchanged at 7%, but governor, Tito Mboweni, cautioning that robust domestic demand together with oil and food prices posed potential risks to the inflation outlook.
CBK warns illegal lenders
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has issued a statement giving sham microfinance institutions until May to clean up their act or face legal action.
Comment: EMU and market discipline
A recent research note by the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies pours cold water on the idea that Italy could crash out of the European Monetary Union (EMU) any time soon. The key to this conclusion lies in the amount of euro-dominated…
German govt, Bundesbank set for gold clash
A long-simmering squabble between the German government and the Bundesbank over the use of Germany's massive gold reserves may come to the boil again as a result of new legislation drafted by the finance ministry, the Financial Times reported.
Doha conference calls for regional central bank
A two-day conference on enriching the economics of the Middle East region, held in Doha this week, ended with a call for the creation of a regional central bank.
Deutsche Bundesbank adopts SwiftNet FileAct
According to a report on Finextra.com, Deutsche Bundesbank is to adopt SwiftNet FileAct to begin standardizing its communications system for low value payments, bringing its branches in line with Germany's national Real Time Gross Settlement as it…
IMF plans to strengthen financial market work
Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the IMF announced proposals on Wednesday 1 February to strengthen the Fund's financial and capital market work by creating a new department that will be a center of excellence for all aspects of financial, capital…
BoJ to implement next-generation RTGS project
The Bank of Japan said Friday it has decided to implement the next-generation real-time gross settlement (RTGS-XG) project.