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Brazil hikes interest rates to 16.25%
Brazil's central bank interest rate setting Copom committee increased interest rates on Wednesday 15 September for the first time since February 2003, saying that it hoped to rein in inflation without disrupting the country's economic recovery.
Greek deficit breach likely to avoid sanctions
Greece announced on Saturday 11 September that its 2004 budget deficit would be 5.3% of gross domestic product. With national debt standing at 184 billion euros, 112% of GDP, or 50,000 euros for every citizen. However the collapse of the stability and…
Japan's regional banks make use of 'amakudari'
Retired senior officials from the Bank of Japan and Ministry of Finance are taking over 7% of well-paid jobs in Japan's regional banks, a process known as 'amakudari', according to Teikoku Databank Ltd.
IMF Global Financial Stability Report, Sep 2004
The International Monetary Fund published its Global Financial Stability Report, the semiannnual assessments of global financial markets, on 15 September. In the report the IMF says that the global financial system is stronger than at any point since the…
'The Region' from the Minneapolis Fed, Sep 2004
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis has published its regular magazine, The Region, for September 2004. In "An Economist's Viewpoint" Gary Stern speaks on the value of economics in understanding current policy controversies. The article "A Fork in…
BoE's Bell on statistical problems
In a speech on 'Monetary Policy, Data Uncertainty and the Supply-Side: Living With the Statistical Fog' given on 15 September, Marian Bell of the Bank of England said it is inevitable that official statistics are subject to significant uncertainty and…
Papua New Guinea central bank posts record profit
The Bank of Papua New Guinea posted a record profit of 68m kina for last year on Tuesday. The bank posted a profit of 54m kina in 2002 and paid 50m kina of that to the state.
RBI may revise inflation target
The Reserve Bank of India, which is closely monitoring inflation, now at 8.33 per cent, may revise its annual target of 5-5.5 per cent in the busy season credit policy next month, according to RBI deputy governor Rakesh Mohan.
IMF's Krueger supports Russian central bank
IMF First Deputy Managing Director Anne Krueger said at a press conference on Monday 13 September that the International Monetary Fund supports actions by the Central Bank of Russia to regulate the recent unstable situation in the country's banking…
No gold sale plan, says Bank of Italy
In a statement released on Monday 13 September, the Bank of Italy said it had no plans to sell its gold reserves.
US to offer anti-money laundering training
The Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) will be the first US organisation to offer training and certification in the UAE to help Middle Eastern professionals develop their controls against money laundering and terrorist…
Profitability of RBA foreign exchange operations
Since the float of the Australian dollar in December 1983, the Reserve Bank of Australia has retained the discretion to intervene in the foreign exchange markets in order to avoid what it perceives to be large overshooting in the currency. This paper…
Nickell warns on UK house prices
In a speech on 'Household debt, house prices and consumption growth' given on 14 September, Stephen Nickell of the Bank of England said there is a significant probability that house prices in the UK will fall at some stage though it is hard to say how…
Bank of Israel - Annual Report 2003
The Bank of Israel has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. The report says there was a turnaround in 2003 and economic activity rallied: GDP and business-sector product rose, after declining in the two previous years. The recovery was…
Korea's possible central bank deficit
The Bank of Korea is highly likely to register a deficit this year for the first time in a decade, according to this article. The Ministry of Finance should refrain from meddling too much in the market and let the central bank do its job of stabilising…
Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report, August 2004
German business confidence dropped for the third month in four in August and the number of unemployed rose to the highest since May of last year. The surge in oil prices to record levels this year may further delay a recovery in consumer spending, the…
BIS Quarterly Review, September 2004
Emerging market countries, notably in Asia, were proving to be among the most active international borrowers and depositors in overseas banks this year, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said in its Quarterly Review, September 2004.
ECB's Trichet says he's still 'Mr Euro'
ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said Saturday he remained firmly in place as "Mr Euro" despite the appointment of Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker as the political face of the 12-nation eurozone.
Russia cb prepares for world-class infrastructure
At a strategic meeting on June 23, 2004 in St. Petersburg, Russia, Michail Senatorov, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Central Bank, and Lazaro Campos, Member of the SWIFT Executive Committee, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in which the bank…
China eyes capital market reforms
China has succeeded in curbing investment and credit growth, and the priority now is to free up interest rates, People's Bank of China deputy governor Li Ruogu said in remarks that may signal long-awaited capital market reforms are drawing nearer.
BOJ may hold rates down until 2008
The Bank of Japan may hold its key interest rate near zero per cent until 2008 as declines in rice and electricity prices fuel deflation, Mizuho Securities Co. economist Yasunari Ueno wrote in a report, according to Bloomberg News.
'No urgency' to lift rates says Fed's Bies
Federal Reserve Governor Susan Bies said the central bank faces ``no urgency'' to lift the benchmark U.S. interest rate while awaiting more evidence that economic expansion is steady.
On the resolution of banking crises
This Bank of England Working Paper reviews the merits of the various techniques used by authorities when resolving individual or widespread bank failures in developed and emerging market economies. Open-ended central bank liquidity support seems to have…
BoJ's Monetary Policy Meeting, 9/10 August
The Bank of Japan released the minutes from its 9 and 10 August meeting on 14 September. In the minutes of its monthly meeting the BoJ cautioned that high oil prices will have a negative impact on the Japanese economy.