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Common West African central bank by July 2005
A common central bank for the five West African countries, Nigeria, Guinea, Ghana, Sierra Leone and The Gambia will have begun operations by July 2005, this article says. To be officially known as the West Africa Central Bank (WACB) the policy-guiding…
Sri Lanka's fin min denies signing banknotes
Sri Lanka's central bank has been forced to hold back huge quantities of new banknotes because Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama publicly denied signing them, an official said on Thursday 29 July.
IMF criticised in report on Argentina
The IMF has been urged to have clear "stop loss" rules when deciding if its support for a country's policies was working or if a more fundamental change was needed.
BoE wins appeal on limiting legal privilege
The Bank of England won an appeal on Thursday 29 July against rulings that restrict the confidentiality of a lawyer's contact with clients. The British government and Law Society had supported its claim that the Court of Appeal erred in its rulings on…
Central Bank of China - Annual Report 2003
The Central Bank of China has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. Taiwan's economic performance experienced a slowdown in the first half of 2003, the report says, as concerns about the US-Iraq War and the outbreak of SARS in East Asia…
Federal Reserve Board - Beige Book, July 2004
The Federal Reserve released its July 2004 Beige Book survey on 28 July. The report said the US economic expansion is showing some signs of moderating as consumer spending brakes.
Report says Mauritania's central bank chief sacked
A report by IRIN news.org special to The Daily Star said on Wednesday 28 July that Mauritania's President Maaouiya Ould Taya had sacked the entire economic team of his government the previous Sunday. It was followed by the sacking of the central bank…
Kenya cb suspends eight over missing notes
Eight members of staff at the central bank of Kenya (CBK), including two departmental heads, are under suspension after at least Sh10 million to-be-discarded notes were believed to have escaped the incinerator, The Nation in Nairobi reported this week.
Goeltom new Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor
In a ceremony at the Bank Indonesia Head Office in Jakarta this week, the Governor of Bank Indonesia Burhanuddin Abdullah presided over the formal handover of the position of Senior Deputy Governor Anwar Nasution to Miranda Swaray Goeltom.
Miner and central bank to share giant diamond
The young miner in the West African state of Guinea who, as we reported last week, found a near-flawless 182 carat diamond will share the value of the sparkler 50/50 with the central bank of Guinea.
Brazil's Candiota resigns, Meirelles to stay on
Luiz Candiota resigned as director of monetary policy at the Central Bank of Brazil on Wednesday 28 July following allegations in the press of tax evasion. Central bank president Henrique Meirelles has also denied allegations that he avoided paying taxes…
Turkey's cb chief warns over austerity measures
Turkish central bank chief Sureyya Serdengecti said on Wednesday 28 July that Turkey has to continue the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal under the current circumstances or risked a return to economic instability.
McTeer says euro was political not economic idea
Dallas Fed president Robert McTeer told the Latin American meeting of the Econometric Society in Santiago that the euro was a politically motivated project that may slow growth and that it was "never obvious" to him as an ideal currency area.
Brazil ready to take more active inflation stance
Brazil's central bank revealed Thursday 29 July in the minutes of its last Copom monetary policy meeting that it was ready to raise take a "more active" position on price increases if there are signs inflation is rising at too fast a pace to meet its…
SBP's Husain on economic development in South Asia
In the speech 'Economic development in South Asia and the impact of globalization' given on 11 July Dr Ishrat Husain of the State Bank of Pakistan said South Asia has made substantial progress in the last decade to integrate in the World economy but…
Italy's Fazio on the prospects for the economy
In the speech 'The banking industry and the prospects for the economy' given on 8 July Antonio Fazio of the Bank of Italy said in the last three years the containment of the budget deficit has been entrusted mainly to one-off measures, which are useful…
Central Bank of Iceland - Annual Report 2003
The Central Bank of Iceland has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. At the same time as national expenditure rebounded quite strongly from the low in 2001 and 2002, exports stagnated. Despite a strong recovery of private consumption and…
Bank of Finland - Annual Report 2003
The Bank of Finland has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. Over the year, financial stability in Finland improved due to the continuing strong returns shown by the country's financial institutions. Overall, the financial market…
RBA's Battellino, some comments on securitisation
In a speech 'Some comments on securitisation' given on 28 July Ric Battellino of the Reserve Bank of Australia said there is no doubt that an efficient and dynamic financial sector contributes importantly to the growth and development of the economy, but…
Tucker on managing the central bank balance sheet
In the speech 'Managing the central bank's balance sheet: Where monetary policy meets financial stability' given on 28 July Paul Tucker of the Bank of England said sets out the analysis underlying the Bank's announcement on 22 July of major reforms of…
New Zealand's OCR increased to 6 per cent
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand increased the Official Cash Rate from 5.75 per cent to 6.00 per cent on 29 July.
Zimbabwe offers investment sweetener
Zimbabwe's central bank announced on Tuesday 27 July a new measure to attract much-needed foreign investment: a guarantee to pay back the entire capital within three months if investors decided to leave.
IMF delays Argentine loan
The International Monetary Fund has delayed approval of a $728 million loan payment to Argentina, forcing the country to draw on central bank reserves to pay back multinational lenders.
Poland raises rates for a second month
Poland's central bank raised interest rates for the second month running after the inflation rate rose close to a three-year high.