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Norway's Bergo on the economic outlook
In the speech 'Household saving and the economic outlook' given on 3 October Jarle Bergo of Norges Bank said the existence of the Petroleum Fund may be influencing Norwegians' saving behaviour.
Kansas Fed's Hoenig on the global economy
In the speech 'The global economy' given on 15 September Thomas Hoenig of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said globalisation will probably always have its skeptics and detractors, but the benefits - which are long lasting - outweigh the costs.
Fed wary of inflation, preparing rate increase
According to this article published on Tuesday 4 October, Federal Reserve officials are on track to raise interest rates at their next meeting. Right now they are on the watch for any sign that expectations for future inflation are deteriorating, it says.
Norges Bank paper on monetary policy, asset prices
A Norges Bank Working Paper investigates whether there is a case for asset prices in interest rates rules within a small econometric model of the Norwegian economy.
St Louis Fed's Regional Economist, October 2005
The Regional Economist, October 2005 edition, from the St Louis Fed includes the article "Gramm-Leach-Bliley turns 5". More than five years have passed since Congress enacted the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, tearing down regulatory barriers that separated…
Comment: IMF under fire again
Writing in the Financial Times yesterday eminent economist, Michael Mussa, who served as economic counsellor and director of the department of research at the International Monetary Fund from 1991-2001, joined the chorus of voices arguing that the Fund…
US payment system working well says Fed's Stern
The US payments system appears to be working well and there is no need for the Fed to significantly alter its role, Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Gary Stern said on Thursday 29 September.
Chavez says foreign reserves shifted to Europe
Venezuela has moved its central bank foreign reserves out of US banks, liquidated its investments in US Treasury securities and placed the funds in Europe, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Friday 30 September.
BOJ's Fukui sees 'fully sustainable' recovery
Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said on Monday 3 October that Japan's economic recovery seems "fully sustainable," though it is very subdued.
Wrong time to cut funds target says BOJ's Nakahara
Bank of Japan policy board member Shin Nakahara said in a speech on Monday 3 October that it would be inappropriate to lower the BOJ's funds target now, and that the threshold for ending its superloose policy framework was not low.
ECB's Tumpel-Gugerell on euro payments area
European Central Bank executive board member Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell said foreign banks will take the leading role in restructuring the European banking sector if domestic banks move too slowly to create a single eurozone payments area.
ZABG illegally acquired bank assets
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's economic turnaround strategy was dealt a severe blow recently when a Supreme Court ruling found that its "Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group" (ZABG) had illegally acquired assets from collapsed commercial banks.
OCC says US derivatives volume tops $96 trillion
Derivatives held by U.S. commercial banks increased by $5.1 trillion in the second quarter of 2005, to $96.2 trillion, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reported on Friday 30 September in its quarterly Bank Derivatives Report.
ECB's Trichet on European financial integration
In the speech 'European financial integration' given on 3 October Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said a lack of integration in EU mortgage markets carries costs for both housebuyers and banks.
Bank of Japan Annual Review 2005
According to the Bank of Japan's Annual Review 2005, the economy continued a recovery trend in fiscal 2004, although there seemed to be somewhat weak movements in production, particularly in IT-related sectors, in the second half of the fiscal year.
Int'l payment systems expand presence in Russia
This article published on Monday 3 October reports that payment systems have achieved notable success in Russia but operate differently than in most other markets.
Financial de-dollarization: Is it for real?
De facto (unofficial) dollarization, defined as the holding by residents of assets and liabilities denominated in a foreign currency, is a policy concern in an increasing number of developing economies, according to this IMF Working Paper published on…
Fed's Ferguson on US currency
In the speech 'US currency' given on 28 September Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said our hope is a smooth transition for the newly designed currency into daily cash transactions.
Sir John Gieve's Biography
John Gieve has been Permanent Secretary of the Home Office since April 2001. It is one of the biggest and most complex departments in government which is responsible for expenditure of some £20 billion a year and employs more than 70,000 people.
Central Bank of Swaziland Annual Report 2004-2005
The Central Bank of Swaziland has published its Annual Report for 2004-2005.
Fazio becomes butt of Tremonti's jokes
Antonio Fazio became the butt of jokes from new economy minister Giulio Tremonti recently, when he poked fun at Fazio and imitated his voice.
Former Bank of Japan executive director dies
Toshihiko Yoshino, a former Bank of Japan executive director and a noted economic critic, died of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital on 12 August, the Asahi Shimbun and Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspapers reported this week. He was 90.
Greenspan farewell party set for December
Finance ministers and central bank presidents from the G7 nations have ensured Alan Greenspan's departure will not go unnoticed with a special session scheduled for December in London as a farewell party.
Fazio, humiliated, still fails to take the hint
The Economist magazine gave its opinion on the Fazio Affair in this article published on Monday 26 September. Mr Fazio's behaviour has wrecked the reputation of the central bank, hitherto one of the country's few internationally respected institutions,…