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IMF stops Vietnam lending program
The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday 13 April that it has stopped its multi-million dollar lending program to Vietnam after a long-running dispute with the country's central bank over disclosure of its foreign reserves.
Eichengreen urges controlled yuan float
Barry Eichengreen, a senior policy adviser to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during the Asian financial crisis has said that China should immediately stop pegging the yuan to the US dollar and instead move to a controlled float of its currency.
Fed's McTeer unconcerned over US inflation
There are no concerns about inflation emerging even as the U.S. economy is growing "on all cylinders," said Robert McTeer, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Fed Reserve Bank of Chicago - Annual Report 2003
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. The main article explores the issues that confront the payments industry as it adopts new payment standards and discusses the appropriate policy role for the…
SF Fed's Parry sees US rates 'maybe' at 3.5%
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Robert Parry said in an interview that U.S. interest rates cannot remain at their 1958 lows forever and will have to rise at some point, perhaps to 3.5 per cent.
Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
The Bank of Japan released the minutes from its 26 February and 15, 16 March Monetary Policy Meetings on Wednesday 14 April. Minutes from the March meeting showed members felt that the downtrend in prices was slowing and expectation of price declines was…
US Treasury's Taylor on monetary policy modeling
In the speech 'Monetary Policy Modeling: Where Are We?' given on 12 April, John Taylor US Treasury Under Secretary said the success of quantitative modeling in the field of monetary policy is clear, and this is due in large part to the "translational…
Fukui's statement to House of Representatives
In a statement before the Committee on Financial Affairs given on 23 March (published 14 April) Toshihiko Fukui of the Bank of Japan said in contrast to a year ago, positive signs are steadily increasing in Japan's economy.
Macfarlane on the world economy and Australia
In a speech on 'The World Economy and its Implications for Australia' given on 14 April, Ian Macfarlane of the RBA said we are still waiting for the durability of the world economic recovery to be sufficiently recognised so that the major central banks…
Russia to revise exchange rate mechanism
The Russian Central Bank will revise its mechanism for setting exchange rate targets, Central Bank Deputy Chairman Konstantin Korishchenko declared. According to him, the bank is considering the possibility of changing its exchange rate policy.
PBOC: China to make yuan fully convertible
China will make the yuan fully convertible, People's Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan said.
France 'just thinking' about gold sales
The French finance ministry said on Tuesday 13 April that it was just thinking about using some of the country's gold for future investments or to reduce debt, after press reports said talks could begin this week with the Bank of France.
Gov't and Bundesbank agree to work together
The German Government has agreed to work together with the Bundesbank over the Ernst Welteke scandal, it was reported on Tuesday 13 April, as both organisations try to prevent their conflict from escalating.
Fukui pledges to maintain current monetary policy
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui reaffirmed to parliament on Tuesday 13 April his commitment to maintain the current super-easy monetary policy framework, until the prolonged deflation comes to an end.
Bank of Canada cuts interest rates to 2 per cent
The Bank of Canada announced on Tuesday 13 April that it is lowering its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 2 per cent.
RBNZ paper on inflation targeting central banks
This RBNZ paper tests the standard quadratic approximation to central bank preferences on data from Australia and New Zealand, two of the earliest explicit inflation targeting countries.
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, April 2004
The Bank of Japan published its April 2004 Monthly Report of Recent Economic and Financial Developments on 13 April. In the report the BOJ said that the prospects for a sustained economic recovery remained bright.
Fed's Poole on trade, wages, employment
In a speech on 'Trade, wages and employment' given on 25 March, William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said only pessimists believe that U.S. entrepreneurs will be unable to compete successfully in world markets using new technology…
Fed's Ferguson on macroeconomic outlook
In a speech on 'Macroeconomic Outlook and Uncertainties' given on 8 April, Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said the macroeconomic outlook for the United States is favourable, overall. There is the possibility that an adverse shock will expose an…
Welteke takes leave from Bundesbank
Reports on Thursday 8 April said that the Bundesbank is resisting pressure from the German government to install Deputy Finance Minister Caio Koch-Weser as president to replace Ernst Welteke who agreed to take leave on Wednesday.
AGCC adopts monetary union criteria
Gulf Arab states agreed on Wednesday 7 April on several key criteria to integrate their economic and fiscal policies for their anticipated monetary union, Kuwait's central bank governor said.
Why Monti's IMF candidacy withdrawn - report
Italy withdrew EU competition commissioner Mario Monti's candidacy for the post of International Monetary Fund managing director in order to gain French and German support over its deficit problems, Italian daily La Repubblica reported.
BOJ expected to hold policy unchanged
The Bank of Japan is expected to keep policy unchanged on Friday 9 March following the release of its tankan survey which showed Japan's economic recovery broadening.
Bank of England leaves rates unchanged
The Bank of England made no statement to explain its thinking after its MPC meeting on Thursday 8 April left interest rates unchanged at 4%. Much speculation preceded the meeting with many analysts predicting a rate increase.