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Guynn to vote as an alternate on FOMC
The U.S. Federal Reserve has said Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Jack Guynn will vote as an alternate on the Open Market Committee in 2005.
G8 plan Asia debt relief
The world's richest nations are likely to agree to freeze debt repayments for nations devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami, according to Britain's treasury chief Gordon Brown.
Weak dollar cuts Bundesbank profits
The appreciation of the euro against the dollar may have reduced the German central bank's 2004 profit down to nothing, Handelsblatt newspaper reported.
PBOC pledges to work on yuan reform
The People's Bank of China said on Tuesday 4 January that it plans to move forward with currency reform in 2005, but repeated its long-time pledge to keep the yuan stable.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bulletin, Dec 2004
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has published the December 2004 issue of its Bulletin. An article in the latest issue reports on recent work examining foreign exchange hedging practices by New Zealand exporters and importers. A second article provides a…
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, Nov 2004
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) for November 2004 was +0.12, down markedly from +0.49 in October. Three of the four broad categories of indicators that comprise the index made small positive contributions, while the employment-related…
Richmond Fed's Lacker on 2005 economic outlook
In a speech on 'The Economic Outlook for 2005' given on 3 January, Jeffrey Lacker of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said we are well-positioned for fairly healthy economic conditions in 2005 and inflation should remain well-contained. Lacker struck…
Norway's Gjedrem: 'Monetary policy is functioning'
In an article published by Aftenposten on 3 January, Norges Bank governor Svein Gjedrem said the Norwegian economy is growing at a solid pace, and there are prospects that growth will remain high in the year ahead.
FRC issues new regulation strategy
The Financial Reporting Council, the UK's unified, independent regulator for corporate reporting and governance, announced its intention to become more pro-active in its enforcement of accounting standards, in a strategy plan issued on Tuesday 21…
Fund: Pakistan on course, but inflation a worry
The IMF has released details of its recent article IV surveillance of Pakistan.
BoE Inflation attitudes survey
The Bank of England's latest inflation attitudes survey reveals expectatsions hovering about 2.4% (compared to 2.3% in the August survey).
Slovakia leaves rate unchanged
The Slovakian central bank maintained interest rates on Tuesday 21 December, as was widely expected by markets.
Hungary passes amendments to central bank law
Hungary's president has signed into force a controversial set of amendments to the law governing the country's central bank, which gives the prime minister the ability to appoint a majority of the bank's monetary board.
Chavez calls for BCV president's resignation
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez called on Diego Castellanos, president of the country's central bank, to step down from his post as the row over the distribution of the central bank's reserves continues.
Bank of Japan's monthly economic report - December
The Bank of Japan said that the economy was continuing on a recovery trend although there were weak spots, notably in production.
Richmond Fed's Lacker gives economic outlook
Next year will likely see "a continuation of growth along a quite similar trajectory," said Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Richmond Fed, in a speech on Monday 20 December. Economic recovery from the recession of 2001 finally put down "firm roots" in…
Japanese experts comment on dollar prospects
Three Japanese experts gave their views on the dollar yen exchange rate and the prospect of central bank intervention at a panel discussion on December 17. The dollar has further to fall, they suggested, but Asian central banks will not liquidate their…
Interest rate round-up
A number of central banks adjusted their interest rates in the last week, some in line with market expectations and others providing a surprise.
Turkey to join inflation targeters in 2006
Turkey's central bank will start "formal" inflation targetting in 2006, according to its Monetary and Exchange Rate Policy document for 2005.
Norges Bank's December Economic Bulletin
The December issue of Norges Bank's Economic Bulletin includes articles on benchmark rates in the long-term bond market, credit risk models and managing financial crises.
US forgives $4.1 billion of Iraqi debt
The US concluded a bilateral agreement on Friday 17 December to write off debts of $4.1 billion owed to it by Iraq, and expressed the hope that other countries would follow its example.
How far must US dollar fall?
A new paper, entitled "How much depreciation of the US dollar for sustainability of the current accounts?" by Eiji Ogawa and Takeshi Kudo of Hitotsubashi University Research Unit considers various scenarios for the future path of the dollar.
Market remains fragemented: ECB-CFS study
According to a study published today, 20 December, by the European Central Bank and the Center for Financial Studies, integration of Europe's financial markets is still some way away.
ECB starts publishing administrative decisions
The ECB published details of operational decisions taken by the governing council for the first time on 17 December, in a move towards greater transparency.