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Thai cb chief rejects reform criticism
Bank of Thailand Governor Pridiyathorn Devalkula said on Friday 15 October that under his leadership the central bank had carried out more reforms than other state agencies.
The fight over Venezuela's central bank profits
Last weekend Venezuela's President Chavez once again attacked the central bank over the amount of "foreign exchange profits" it should turn over to the government. With Chavez threatening to go to the Supreme Court on the issue, this article suggests the…
ECB chief sees uncertainties for eurozone outlook
In an interview on Friday 15 October, European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said that high oil prices were increasing uncertainties about the economic outlook for the eurozone, although the bank still expects the recovery to continue.
Japan's Fukui on global exchanges
In a speech on 'Global imbalances and exchanges' given on 13 October, Toshihiko Fukui of the Bank of Japan said central banks operate in the markets to achieve their policy goals. As a result, the effectiveness of monetary policy depends on the sound…
Fed's Geithner on global payments challenges
In a speech on 'Challenges facing the global payments system' given on 14 October, Timothy Geithner of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York told the SIBOS 2004 Atlanta Conference more needs to be done by financial institutions to reduce the threat of…
Fed's Kohn on low-probability, high-impact events
In a speech 'How should policymakers deal with low-probability, high-impact events?' given at the ECB's Conference on Monetary Policy and Imperfect Knowledge on 15 October, Donald Kohn of the Federal Reserve said central banks with credibility for…
The lobster trap of central banking
According to an article published this week, central banking is a gigantic lobster trap. It is set by the commercial banking industry and the government, which grants the central bank a monopoly over the control of the monetary reserves (government debt)…
Nobel prize winner keen to continue his work
Finn Kydland, joint winner of the 2004 Nobel economics prize, was giving a guest lecture at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH) in Bergen, western Norway when he was told the news he had won the prize.
Eu-row continues
The row over how to spell the "euro" single currency was only partially solved this week when Lithuania (euras) and Slovenia (evro) agreed a compromise on the word but Latvia (eiro) and Hungary (euroo) said they plan to stick to their own spelling.
RBA likely annoyed by political rate talk
In an interview with Dow Jones Newswires on Wednesday 13 October, Professor Stephen Bell, author of a new book "Australia's Money Madarins: The Reserve Bank and the Politics of Money" said the government's argument that interest rates would rise faster…
McTeer set to leave Dallas Fed
Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert McTeer, the U.S. central bank's resident poet and "lonesome dove" on inflation, is likely to leave if he wins the chancellor's position for the Texas A&M University System.
Leiderman named favourite to replace Klein
Professor Yitzhak Swary isn't the leading candidate to be the next Bank of Israel Governor, as Professor Leonardo Leiderman, a former senior official at the central bank, has a better chance of being appointed, TheMarker.com financial news service…
Romania appoints new Board of Directors
The National Bank of Romania has a new Board of Directors, Rompres reported on Tuesday 12 October. The BNR management was agreed by parliament in late September following fierce debate.
Ireland's statistics department finally leaves cb
Staff of Ireland's department of Central Statistics office located on the top floor of the Central Bank building started vacating the building this week. The move came as a result of a three-month notice which the central bank sent to the Statistics…
Hungary's Jarai against cb reform proposal
The president of Hungary's central bank (MNB), Zsigmond Jarai, has criticised a proposal to increase the number of members of the MNB's Monetary Council from nine to eleven and to allow the prime minister to choose five of the eleven members and approve…
Russia discusses single currency idea with Ukraine
Russia and Ukraine are ready to discuss currency integration and the introduction of a single currency, Russian Ambassador in Kiev Viktor Chernomyrdin said in opening remarks to a round table meeting "Russia and Ukraine: Prospects of Cooperation in the…
Central banks 'must cede powers for GCC currency'
On Wednesday 13 October, Kuwait urged GCC states to be ready to cede some of the powers of their central banks to a unified institution to ensure the success of a planned common currency for the region.
Fed's Bernanke says floating exchange rates best
In a speech to the Cato Institute 22nd Annual Monetary Conference on Thursday 14 October Ben Bernanke said that the best course is generally to let exchange rates float freely and to make low and stable inflation a principal focus of monetary policy,…
BOK expects first loss in decade
Governor of the Bank of Korea Park Seung told parliament on Tuesday 12 October that the central bank predicted it would suffer a loss of about 300 billion won ($261.8 million) this year.
Norges Bank, Economic Bulletin, October 2004
Norges Bank, the central bank of Norway, published its October 2004 Economic Bulletin on Thursday 7 October. The Bulletin includes the article "Inflation targeting - some theory with main focus on practice" by the Governor of Norges Bank, Svein Gjedrem…
Riksbank leaves repo rate unchanged at 2 per cent
At its meeting on 13 October, the Executive Board of the Sveriges Riksbank decided to leave the repo rate unchanged at 2 per cent.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, October 2004
The European Central Bank published its October 2004 Monthly Bulletin on Thursday 14 October, saying that record oil prices are threatening to slow the pace of the economic recovery in the dozen nations sharing the euro.
Canada's Dodge on nation building
In a speech on 'Nation building' given on 13 October, David Dodge of the Bank of Canada said this has been an exciting day for the Bank of Canada. This morning, we unveiled a new $50 note that celebrates nation building: shaping the political, legal, and…
Bank of Canada unveils new $50 banknote
The Bank of Canada on Wednesday 13 October unveiled Canada's new $50 banknote, the theme of which is Nation Building: shaping the political, legal, and social structures for democracy and equality.