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Tanigaki says inflation targeting debate important
Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Friday 22 April that it would be important for the Bank of Japan to consider inflation targeting as a monetary policy option once the country overcomes deflation.
Fed chief says China rate move should come soon
Fed chairman Alan Greenspan told the US senate on Thursday 21 April that growing economic pressure will force China to change its policy of pegging its currency to the dollar at some point, and the sooner it happens the better.
World Bank says China exchange rate move welcome
The World Bank has said it supports China's plan to move towards a more flexible exchange rate system as it would help the government with the conduct of its domestic monetary policy.
Cleveland's Pianalto says hikes on way to neutral
Speaking on Thursday 21 April, Sandra Pianalto, President of the Cleveland Fed said the Federal Reserve will continue its measured pace of interest rate hikes to bring rates back to neutral and preserve price stability, its most important task.
Dilemma facing Southeast Asia's central banks
This article published on Thursday 21 April looks at the situation of Asian central banks. A cocktail of rising inflation, slower economic growth and "an aggressive" Federal Reserve is forcing local central banks to raise interest rates when their…
NY Fed's Geithner at the Bond Market Association
In a speech given on 20 April, Timothy Geithner of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said the regulatory treatment of risk in the United States does not capture the risks of new financial products very well and firms need to do more to fix this.
Canada's Dodge on the state of the economy
In a speech to the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce given on 20 April, David Dodge of the Bank of Canada said the bank expects Canada's economy to grow by about 2.5% in 2005 and 3.25% in 2006, with growth this year and next coming…
Sweden's Srejber on market rate developments
In a speech on 14 April, Sveriges Riksbank deputy governor Eva Srejber said that despite a gradual rise in growth since 2001 in Sweden and abroad, long-term interest rates have fallen to low levels in many OECD countries.
Fed's Gramlich on growing retirement costs
In the speech 'A first step in dealing with growing retirement costs' given on 21 April, Edward Gramlich of the Federal Reserve said the United States should remove a cap on wages subject to the Social Security payroll tax and raise the retirement age to…
Link between central bank independence & inflation
This IMF Working Paper published on 21 April reviews central bank legislation in 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean during the 1990s. Using panel regressions, the authors find a negative relationship between legal central bank independence …
BSP deputy governor Reyes retires
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas deputy governor Alberto V. Reyes retired from his post as head of the Supervision and Examination Sector this week, a post he had held for ten years.
Clarida tipped as new Fed governor
According to several reports this week, the White House is considering former US Treasury official Richard Clarida for the Federal Reserve seat that would be free if Fed Governor Ben Bernanke is confirmed to the CEA.
Bini Smaghi wins MEPs' backing for ECB post
The Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee has approved the nomination of Lorenzo Bini Smaghi to the Executive Board of the European Central Bank. At the end of a confirmation hearing on 19 April, committee members voted by 16 in favour to 2 against…
After Greenspan: Ben Bernanke?
Despite strong support from the likes of Alan Blinder, Ben Bernanke is still seen as a dark-horse candidate for chairman of the Federal Reserve, according to this article. While Bernanke's move to the CEA has prompted talk that he is "one step closer" to…
Deputy BoB governor explains his departure
The deputy governor of the Bank of Botswana, Dr Keith Jefferis, resigned from the bank earlier this month after five years of service. In this article he explains the reasons for his departure, saying that he chose to leave because he wanted to set up…
Bundesbank may cut further 1,100 staff
According to the Bundesbank's works council the German central bank is planning to cut a further 1,100 jobs to add to the 5,000 redundancies already announced.
Iran: New call for central bank independence
Iran's deputy minister of economic affairs and finance said the proposed scheme to transform the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) into an independent entity would help improve the management system of the key Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund.
IMF's Rato sees S American inflation decline in 05
The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday 20 April that Latin America is likely to see a further decline in inflation in 2005, despite higher oil prices.
Ferguson says Fed right to watch prices
Speaking on Wednesday 20 April, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson said the US central bank was correct to keep its eye on inflation pressures, but noted some volatile components contributed to a surprisingly big rise in core consumer prices in…
MOF's Asakawa says Japan won't diversify reserves
According to Japanese Ministry of Finance official Masatsugu Asakawa, Japan doesn't plan to change the percentage of US dollars in its $838 billion official reserve assets, the world's largest.
BoJ's Fukui sees economy recovering
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui said on Thursday 21 April that the world's second-largest economy remained on a recovery track in spite of cautious business sentiment.
Fed's Greenspan on budget process reforms
In testimony on 'Budget process reforms' given on 21 April, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said huge budget deficits pose a danger to the nation's long-term economic health.
Federal Reserve Board - Beige Book, April 2005
The Federal Reserve published its April 2005 Beige Book survey on Wednesday 20 April. The report said US business activity continued to expand through early April, but price pressures from rising energy costs have intensified in some areas.
Sweden's Persson: Employment in a globalised world
In a speech on 11 April, Sveriges Riksbank deputy governor Kristina Persson said as a small open economy that produces high value added goods and services, Sweden should be well capable of meeting restructuring pressures in the future.