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The good news - White House wants Greenspan again
The White House repeated on Tuesday that President George W. Bush will support another term for Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve Chairman.
The bad news - Greenspan must go!
Chairman Greenspan's busy week of testimony and speeches didn't go without its critics. Republican Senator Bernie Sanders sent a letter to President "Dubya" asking for Greenspan's removal.
IMF MD Horst Kohler's statement on visit to Korea
During his visit to Korea International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Horst Kohler issued a statement in Seoul Thursday. He expressed his great pleasure at returning to Korea for a second time.
PMA chief Haddad accuses Israel
The governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority, Amin Haddad, on Thursday 26 February accuses Israel of "daylight theft at gunpoint" after Israeli troops seized over $8 million from banks in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
America's dangerous deficit
We distribute this article from the International Herald Tribune, with permission, as it is among the first that we have seen in the mainstream media publicly speculating about the possibility of the US effectively restricting access of central banks to…
Buba's Stark says strong euro is not export burden
The Vice-President of Germany's Bundesbank Juergen Stark said on Wednesday 25 February that the strong euro did not have too much of an impact on exports and that the eurozone was slowly recovering.
Poland's Monetary Policy Council hold rates
Poland's Monetary Policy Council kept interest rates on hold on Wednesday 25 February . The decision was expected due to the recently completed council changeover, but the council suggested rates were more likely to rise than fall.
Cleveland's Pianalto - US job growth on the up
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Sandra Pianalto said on Wednesday 25 February that strong US productivity and job outsourcing has helped explain weak US employment creation, but that conditions were on the mend.
Raffarin says ECB should react to euro rise
Speaking on Thursday 26 February, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said he shared Gerhard Schroeder's views that the ECB should think about varying eurozone interest rates given the euro's strong rise against the dollar.
BOJ holds monetary policy steady
The Bank of Japan said that its nine-member policy board, chaired by Governor Toshihiko Fukui, decided unanimously to leave its monetary policy unchanged at the end of a half-day scheduled meeting on Thursday 26 February.
Fazio on the international economy and Italy
In a speech on 'The international economy and Italy' given on 14 February, Antonio Fazio of the Bank of Italy said the recovery of the world economy offers Italy an opportunity to overcome the present phase of uncertainty. Capitalizing on the resources…
Caruana on risk management
In a speech to the 5th Annual Risk Management Convention given on 24 February, Jaime Caruana, Chairman of the Basel Committee, said impressive advances have been achieved in measuring and managing exposures to market risk, credit risk and, more recently,…
St Louis Fed's Poole on best guesses and surprises
In a speech on 'Best Guesses and Surprises' given on 25 February, William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said the low capital levels and large portfolios of government-sponsored mortgage enterprises Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were a…
IMF's Koehler supports Japan's FX intervention
Visiting the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Managing Director Horst Koehler said on Wednesday 25 February in Tokyo that he could understand Japan's currency intervention policy.
Schroeder urges ECB consider rate cut
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said on Wednesday 25 February that the European Central Bank should "most intensively" consider cutting interest rates to halt the euro's appreciation against the dollar.
China and US meet on yuan, but no quick fixes seen
U.S. and Chinese officials met on Wednesday 25 February for talks on China's financial policies, including discussion on the yuan peg. John Snow said he understood Chinese policymakers arguments that China cannot change yuan policy overnight.
France's Noyer reassures over 'very stable' euro
Bank of France governor Christian Noyer played down the rise of the euro on Wednesday 25 February, saying the rate was "very stable" and that the exchange rate was not far from the launch rate of the euro in 1999.
Serbia replaces central bank chief
Serbia's parliament sacked national bank governor Kori Udovicki on Wednesday 25 February in a 129-109 vote following allegations that the vote electing her to the post was rigged. Radovan Jelasic was later voted in to replace Udovicki.
Greenspan: growth vigorous, spending cuts needed
In a speech on 'Economic outlook and current fiscal issues' given on 25 February, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said the US economy has turned the corner from recession and is on the verge of "sustainable" growth. To ensure that, Congress must…
Qualitative aspects of effective risk management
In the a speech on 'Qualitative Aspects of Effective Risk Management' given on 25 February, Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said the recent accounting scandal at Italian business giant Parmalat shows corporate governance issues are global in…
Floating the renminbi is a red herring
This article by Gerald P O'Driscoll Jr and Lee Hoskins says the citizens of both China and the US will benefit when China moves closer to a market economy. But in the meantime, the leaders of both countries need to avoid protectionism in all forms,…
IMF Working Paper on inflation targeting
In the IMF Working Paper "Inflation Targeting and Exchange Rate Rules in an Open Economy" published on 24 February, the authors find that the exchange rate regime and measure of inflation targeted have crucial implications for the effect on output and…
Fed's Gramlich on budget and trade deficits
In a speech on 'Budget and Trade Deficits: Linked, Both Worrisome in the Long Run, but not Twins' given on 25 February, Edward Gramlich of the Federal Reserve warned that large persistent U.S. budget and trade deficits could lead to "significant economic…
US - China group on currency to meet this week
A six-member US delegation will meet with officials from the People's Bank of China this week to discuss various financial issues including currency and banking matters.