Central Banking staff
Follow Central Banking
Articles by Central Banking staff
Thailand's Nijathaworn on developing bond market
In a speech on 'Developing the bond market - a central bank perspective' given on 29 March (published 28 April), Bandid Nijathaworn of the Bank of Thailand said we have been tasked with the responsibility to develop an active secondary market. The Bank…
Fischer on Israel's economy and challenges ahead
In the speech 'A brief look at Israel's economy and the challenges ahead' given on 1 May, Stanley Fischer of the Bank of Israel said the right economic policy is essential for the economy's ability to grow rapidly. There are, however, other factors…
IMF Working Paper on international reserves
The IMF Working Paper "A fiscal price tag for international reserves" examines the (quasi-)fiscal impact of the (opportunity) cost of international reserves. The paper suggests that while most countries made money on their reserves during 1990-2001, most…
Federal Reserve raises rates to 3%
The Federal Open Market Committee decided on Tuesday 3 May to raise its target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 3 per cent. In its statement the FOMC said monetary policy remained "accommodative" and that it expected to continue removing…
BoJ: Outlook for Economic Activity & Prices Apr 05
The Bank of Japan has published the English version of its April 2005 Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices report. The report says Japan's economy remains on a recovery trend, despite a recent pause due partly to adjustments in production and…
OECD chief says dollar fall is no shock
OECD Secretary General Donald Johnston said on Monday 2 May there was no reason to be shocked by the fall of the dollar against the euro and that developed countries had failed to prepare for a surge in Chinese textile exports.
ADB: Malaysian ringgit peg reform long overdue
The Asian Development Bank's top economist said on Tuesday 3 May that it is time for Malaysia to relax its currency peg and strong economic fundamentals will allow the country to adopt a more flexible exchange rate fairly smoothly.
Rato says 'premature' to rule out ECB rate cut
International Monetary Fund managing director Rodrigo Rato said it would be "premature" to exclude interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank while the eurozone economy remains in "a soft patch".
Fed expected to raise rates again
Faced with conflicting forces, the Federal Reserve was expected to increase interest rates by a moderate quarter-point at the conclusion of its FOMC meeting on Tuesday, the eighth such increase since last June.
RBNZ reinforces last week's statement
Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor Alan Bollard on Tuesday 3 May reinforced his statement of 28 April that economic data suggests that underlying demand and inflation pressures remain strong and that, in this environment, further policy tightening…
Cyprus, Malta, Latvia included in the ERM II
At request, the ministers of the euro area Member States of the European Union, the President of the ECB and the ministers and the central bank governors of Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia and the relevant central bank decided to include the Cyprus…
IMF paper on central bank transparency
The IMF Working Paper "Transparency in central bank financial statement disclosures" looks at the disclosure requirements for central banks under International Financial Reporting Standards and provides practical guidance for those responsible for…
New book challenges role of the Bank of Japan
A new controversial theory that could transform the world of economics has been drawn up by a University of Southampton academic in a book described by Professor Charles Goodhart as "both a powerful and important book".
Norges Bank, Economic Bulletin, April 2005
Norges Bank, the central bank of Norway, has published its April 2005 Economic Bulletin. The Bulletin includes the address "Economic perspectives" by Governor Svein Gjedrem, and the articles "Evaluation of Norges Bank's projections for 2004", "What…
Danmarks Nationalbank, Monetary Review 1st Q 2005
The Danmarks Nationalbank's Monetary Review for the First Quarter 2005 includes the articles: Risks on settlement of large payments, The 10-year yield spread between Denmark and Germany, Relations between stock prices and bond yields and Hedge funds in…
Ecuadoran congress fires central bank directors
The Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE) was left leaderless on Thursday 28 April after the National Congress dismissed the members of its board, the BBC Monitoring Service reported.
Fischer to begin at Bank of Israel on Sunday
Stanley Fischer is scheduled to start his new job as the governor of the Bank of Israel on Sunday 1 May.
Bofinger named favourite to replace Issing at ECB
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government hasn't decided yet who will succeed European Central Bank Chief Economist Otmar Issing when he retires next year, government spokesman Bela Anda said Friday, after reports named Peter Bofinger as a…
Integrated markets should boost growth says Weber
More integration of financial markets should give Europe's long-term growth prospects a much-needed boost, European Central Bank Governing Council member Axel Weber said on Thursday 28 April.
ECB faces criticism from Germany, Italy
The European Central Bank came under fire this week when senior German and Italian politicians called on the eurozone central bank to change its policies to help boost Europe's weak economic growth rate.
Bangladesh Bank gets new chief
The Bangladesh government has appointed Salehuddin Ahmed as the new governor of the country's Central Bank, the Zee News website reported on Friday 29 April.
Kansas Fed's Hoenig praises entrepreneurs
As much as half the economic growth in the United States has come from entrepreneurial ventures, the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said on Thursday 28 April.
Report says Fed likely to hike rates again
The U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to raise the target for its key short-term interest rate to 3 percent from 2.75 percent when its rate-setting committee meets on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal said on Friday 29 April.
No plan for imminent yuan reform says PBOC
China has no plans to revalue its currency, the yuan, during next week's Labour Day holiday, a People's Bank of China spokesman was quoted as saying on Friday 29 April, quashing rumours that such a change was imminent.