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Illarionov says Russia diversifying fx reserves
By selling US dollars, securities and assets denominated in the US currency, Russia is diversifying its currency reserves, which is in line with the policy pursued by the Central Bank of Russia, Andrei Illarionov, adviser to the Russian President on…
Japan's Fukui watching forex market
Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said on Sunday 7 November that the Bank of Japan was watching currency markets warily after the dollar fell last week but did not think Washington was trying to guide the dollar lower.
Chicago Fed's Moskow on community development
In a speech on 'Lessons for Community Development Financial Institutions' given on 5 November, Michael Moskow of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said Community banks could learn from some of their competitors, such as check-cashing services, and…
Fed's Bies on financial supervision issues
In a speech on 'Financial supervision issues' given on 5 November, Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said the US government budget has become a "cookie jar" for lawmakers over the past four years, with taxpayer funds spent in some cases for …
RBA Statement on Monetary Policy, November 2004
The Reserve Bank of Australia published its November 2004 Statement on Monetary Policy on 8 November. The Australian economy has continued to perform well during 2004, maintaining a solid pace of expansion and low inflation, the report said.
Mexico on an upswing
Mexico's inflation has come down and the economy has recovered sharply, but can the central bank keep up the good work? Benedict Mander reports for CentralBankNet.
RBA fights to preserve secrecy
The Australian newspaper is attempting to have released the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's meetings and voting records for 2003/04 released under Australia's Freedom of Information laws. But the nine-member board -- whose six external…
Italy's Fazio sees 2005 growth less than 2%
Bank of Italy governor Antonio Fazio told a conference he expects GDP in the third quarter to have risen 0.3 pct from the previous quarter, and forecast Italian growth of less than 2 pct for the whole of 2005.
IMF's Rato calls on Bush to work on deficits
IMF managing director Rodrigo Rato was quoted as saying on Friday 5 November that newly re-elected US president George Bush should turn his attention to the country's budget and trade deficits as part of a global push to spur growth after winning re…
Taylor predicts smooth deficit adjustment in US
US Treasury Under secretary John Taylor has said he expects a smooth adjustment in the large US current account deficit. While some have bemoaned the increase in the deficit, Taylor said it was good news.
NBU chief downbeat on common currency idea
The acting head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Arsen Yatsenyuk, said in an interview that there can be no question of introducing a common currency with Russia.
Cyprus and Russia sign money laundering accord
The Cypriot Unit for Combating Money Laundering (MOKAS) has signed a cooperation agreement with the corresponding unit from the Russian Federation on international cooperation against money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.
The Mussa Theorem & IMF induced moral hazard
Using a simple model of international lending, this IMF Working Paper shows that as long as the IMF lends at an actuarially fair interest rate and debtor governments maximize the welfare of their taxpayers, any changes in policy effort, capital flows, or…
Padoa-Schioppa on European financial institutions
In a speech 'How to deal with emerging pan-European financial institutions?' given on 3 November, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa of the ECB said the regulatory and supervisory framework that is now in place can meet the challenges. The condition, however, is…
Bergstrom: Riksbank to blame for unemployment?
In a speech titled 'Is the Riksbank to blame for unemployment?' given on 4 November Villy Bergstrom of the Sveriges Riksbank said all factual criticism of the Riksbank's forecasts is good, but there's a risk of concentrating the debate on our interest…
Tumpel-Gugerell on the euro's success & challenges
In a speech 'Six years after the euro: Success and challenges' given on 5 November, Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell of the ECB said excessive volatility in the foreign-exchange market is "not beneficial" and can be "painful" for exporters.
Ukrainian election heads for runoff vote
The top two candidates to succeed Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma are heading for a run-off vote on 21 November, after neither won a majority in the first round. Former governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko is one of the candidates.
Dallas Fed's McTeer says 'Goodbye and howdy'
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Bob McTeer resigned on Thursday 4 October to become chancellor at Texas A&M University, ending a 36-year career in the Federal Reserve system. In a statement posted on the Dallas Fed's website on Thursday titled …
List of Greenspan successors shrinks
The re-election of President George Bush sharply narrows the field of candidates to succeed Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve chief, this article says. Steven Cecchetti is quoted as saying Martin Feldstein is the unconditional best candidate.
CBN may lose 2,000 staff
The Central Bank of Nigeria may lose up to 2,000 staff as part of a restructuring of the bank, press reports said this week. The majority of the affected employees work in four departments which are to be phased out as part of the plans, Vanguard said.
RBI names Gopinath as key department head
Shyamala Gopinath, a deputy governor in the Reserve Bank of India, took charge of the key departments of monetary policy and internal debt management this week following Rakesh Mohan's move to Economic Affairs secretary in the government.
Bank of Israel promotes 20 percent of staff
A press report said this week that Bank of Israel governor David Klein has decided to promote 20 per cent of the central bank's staff, with salary increases of between 10 and 15 per cent. Haaretz said the move was made without consulting the workers…
Interview with Central Bank of Cuba's Soberon
In an interview published this week, president Francisco Soberon of the Central Bank of Cuba said it would be extremely unwise for Cuba to change the one-to-one exchange rate to the dollar after the Cuban people have shown such confidence in the Cuban…
Albania votes in new central bank chief
Albania's parliament voted to confirm some changes to top executive posts on Thursday 28 October including the appointment of Ardian Fullani as the new central bank governor.