Central Banking staff
Follow Central Banking
Articles by Central Banking staff
OECD urges Japan to keep up regulatory reform
Regulatory reform is already well under way in Japan but should be continued and strengthened if Japan is to reap all the opportunities of its current recovery, according to a new OECD report.
Bundesbank reports German economy picking up
Growth of the German economy, the biggest in the euro zone, is likely to have outpaced the first-quarter rate of 0.4% in the second quarter of the current year, the Bundesbank said on Monday 19 July.
Chicago Fed Letter, August 2004
The latest edition of the Chicago Fed Letter for August 2004, titled 'Economy to continue cruising along,' says the outlook for 2004 is for the US economy to have its best growth in seven years, growing at a rate above potential, and leading to a fall in…
Fed's Bies on risk management
In a speech on 'Using Enterprise-wide Risk Management to Effectively Execute Business Strategies' given on 16 July, Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said credit cards and bank overdraft protection are drawing the attention of regulators because…
Central Bank of Turkey - Annual Report 2003
The Central Bank of Turkey has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. Although the formation of a new Government partially alleviated the domestic political uncertainties, the worries over the Iraqi operation in March 2003 and the…
PBOC's Ning on China's economic development
In a speech on 'China's economic development and the current macroeconomic policy' given on 9 June, Su Ning of the PBOC said China's exchange rate reform is still underway. In light of China's current stage of economic development, performance of the…
MAS's Palmer on Basel II and beyond
In a speech on 'Basel II and beyond' given on 12 July, John Palmer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore said we should not look at the release of the final version of Basel II as the end of the process to set more risk-sensitive capital adequacy…
Retired bank grandees face grilling in BCCI trial
Monday 19 July marks the first day of the Bank of England's defence in the BCCI court case. The final judgement could still be two years away. Special CentralBankNet report.
Meyer's book lifts lid on life inside the Fed
Former Federal Reserve governor Laurence Meyer's new book reveals some insights on life inside the Fed. This review says Meyer was advised against saying anything in a speech that might move financial markets. In the book, Meyer writes that Chairman Alan…
Central bank staff may okay job action in Israel
The Bank of Israel labor union will meet next week to officially approve "lengthy strikes," Haaretz reported Friday 16 July. Central bank employees struck for one day last May.
Polish finance minister resigns to join IMF
Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka said that Finance Minister Andrzej Raczko was leaving the government for a post at the International Monetary Fund and would be replaced on Wednesday by the economist Miroslaw Gronicki, AFP reported Friday.
Eurozone inflation eases to 2.4% in June
Eurozone inflation fell slightly in June to 2.4 percent on a 12-month basis from 2.5 percent in May, final data from the EU's statistical office Eurostat showed on Friday 16 July.
Japan 'half way' to overcoming deflation
While deflation has shown signs of easing in Japan, rising raw material prices still haven't affected consumer goods, signalling that price declines will continue, Japan's Cabinet Office said in its white paper on the economy.
Trichet confident Asian growth remains on track
ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet was in Singapore on Friday 16 July for a meeting with East Asia-Pacific central bank governors. Trichet said he is confident that the global interest rate environment remains benign and regional growth, led by China, is…
Brazil to propose central bank autonomy in 2005
Brazils government will present a proposal to grant the Central Bank autonomy by 2005, Finance Minister Antonio Palocci was quoted as saying in the Friday July 16 edition of the Financial Times.
Austria's Liebscher on Bretton Woods institutions
In a speech on 'The importance of the Bretton Woods institutions for small countries' given on 21 June, Klaus Liebscher of the Austrian National Bank said he is a firm believer in the value of the Bretton Woods Institutions for the global economy as a…
EMEAP - Eurosystem high level seminar in Singapore
Eleven Central Bank Governors from the Executives' Meeting of East Asia-Pacific (EMEAP), the President of the European Central Bank and twelve Governors from the Eurosystem National Central Banks held a joint high-level seminar in Singapore on 16 July.
BoJ's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes, 14/15 June
The Bank of Japan released the minutes from its 14 and 15 June Monetary Policy Meeting on 16 July. Members said that many economic indicators released since the previous meeting were relatively strong for Japan, and agreed that the economy continued to…
Fed's Bies on business financial conditions
In a speech on 'Business financial conditions and relationships with bankers' given on 15 July, Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said the economic expansion is now broad based, and the financial strength of businesses should help provide the…
Japan's former economy minister wins seat
Former Japanese economy minister Heizo Takenaka won his first parliamentary election this week and said on Monday 12 July that he aims to get Japan's growth back on track.
Khodorkovsky wants Gerashchenko off Yukos board
Former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky plans to request the company shareholders consider dismissing former chairman of the central bank of Russia, Viktor Gerashchenko, from his post of chairman of the company's board of directors, Khodorkovsky's lawyer…
New board game in Argentina aims to beat the IMF
A new board game called 'Eternal Debt' is keeping people in Argentina busy at the moment. The point of the game is to try to beat the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by accumulating the least debt. The game is subtitled 'Who can beat the IMF?' and it…
Jordan appoints new deputy governor
During its weekly session on Tuesday 13 July, the Jordanian Cabinet decided to appoint Sharif Faris Abdul Hamid Sharaf as deputy governor of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) succeeding Saleh Tayeh who had earlier submitted his resignation, the Jordan…
Bank of Canada appoints Special Adviser
The Bank of Canada announced the appointment of Professor Christopher Ragan to the position of Special Adviser during the year 2004-2005 this week. Professor Ragan, whose areas of interest include government debt, inflation, monetary policy, and exchange…