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Bank of Thailand in policy rethink
The Bank of Thailand is reviewing its foreign-exchange policies with the aim of maintaining trade competitiveness, the Bangkok Post reported. Deputy governor Thirachai Phuvanat-Naranubala said the export sector was now polarised with industrial exports…
Fed's McTeer sees long spell of low U.S. rates
Dallas Fed President Robert McTeer said Wednesday that there is enough slack in the US economy "for interest rates to be on the historically low side for the foreseeable future". Earlier, McTeer told reporters he saw the U.S. economy moving ahead at a…
BOJ's Iwata repeats price stability target call
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Kazumasa Iwata said Wednesday "I think a rise in the CPI of around 1-2 percent would mean prices have stabilised", Reuters reported. Iwata's proposals have been rejected by the other eight members of the BOJ's Policy Board,…
ECB keeps rates steady at 2 pct as expected
The European Central Bank held interest rates steady at 2 percent at its Thursday meeting, Reuters reported. Wim Duisenberg's last Governing Council meeting was held in Lisbon.
Tanzania central bank chief told: Pay fine or jail
The High Court in Dar es Salaam has given Tanzania's central bank governor Daudi Balali seven days to pay a fine or face a four month jail sentence, a report from Xinhua News said. Delivering the ruling Judge Salum Massati said that on 4 June 2001, a…
Reserve Bank of New Zealand - Annual Report 2003
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has published its Annual Report for 2003. For the currency function the year was a period of consolidation, Governor Alan Bollard said in his statement, making sure the system works well and embedding the new polymer notes…
RBA Payments System Board Annual Report 2003
The Reserve Bank of Australia Payments System Board has published its Annual Report for 2003. The Board has used two main techniques to assess the efficiency of the Australian payments system, the Annual Report says. The first has been to look at the…
Address by Jurgen Stark to the CEPR/ESI conference
In his opening address to the CEPR/ESI conference on 'The Euro Area as an Economic Entity' given on 12 September Jurgen Stark of the Bundesbank said he considered such meetings especially valuable because academics should increasingly confront themselves…
Fed's Gramlich on Maintaining Price Stability
In the speech 'Maintaining Price Stability' given on 1 October Edward Gramlich of the Federal Reserve said on inflation targeting, "To me the verdict on theoretical grounds alone has always been a close call. I can see the advantages of transparency and…
Bean on Inflation Targeting: The UK Experience
In the speech 'Inflation Targeting: The UK Experience' given on 1 October Charles Bean of the Bank of England said it was "extraordinarily difficult" to know how much to raise interest rates, if at all, to prevent a bubble in the housing market and an…
Brazil's central bank halves economic forecast
The Banco Central do Brazil has slashed its forecast for economic growth by more than half for this year to 0.6%, according to the Financial Times. The central bank also said it expected year-end inflation to reach 8.9 per cent, down from previous…
Interview with IMF Chief Economist Raghuram Rajan
The new Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund Raghuram Rajan said in an interview, published by Business Week Online, that the IMF is extremely strong in its views on exchange rates, monetary policy, and fiscal policy and that "I suspect my…
Philippines central bank joins the BIS
The Philippines central bank has joined the BIS, AFP reports. Deputy governor Alberto Reyes said "Membership in the BIS will give the Philippines a voice among the world's central bankers and allow the country to recommend measures affecting the banking…
UK economy growth 'double the estimate'
The British economy grew twice as fast as previously thought during the second quarter of this year, official figures have showed, according to the Financial Times. The Office for National Statistics revised its estimates of growth in gross domestic…
Ed Gramlich: No formal US inflation target needed
Federal Reserve Governor Edward Gramlich said on Wednesday 1 October that the US could benefit from an agreed target range for prices, but an explicit inflation target was not needed as it could further tie down the FOMC. Speaking in Toronto he said some…
Scant jobs pose U.S. recovery risk- Fed's Broaddus
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Alfred Broaddus said on Tuesday 30 September, Reuters reports, that he saw a risk that already fast growth in productivity could accelerate, making it even harder to bring down the unemployment rate and lessen…
Atlanta Fed's Guynn-U.S. recovery gaining steam
The recovery is more tangible now and a lot less academic, Atlanta Fed President Jack Guynn has said. He told a Commerce Club lunch on Tuesday 30 September that the pick up in U.S. economic growth is helping to restore optimism about the future strength…
Fed's Moskow says factory slump is part structural
Speaking on Tuesday 30 September, Chicago Fed chief Michael Moskow said it was hard to distinguish how much of the downturn in manufacturing was due to the business cycle, and how much to structural changes, according to Reuters. But he said he was…
Scotland to host 'Real Madrid' of economics
The Fraser of Allander Institute, based at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow is to host a series of lectures titled "Renewing Scotland", according to The Scoteman. The speakers, dubbed the "Real Madrid" of economists, will include William Baumol, an…
Bank of Japan - Annual Review 2003
The Bank of Japan has published its Annual Review 2003. In the foreword to the Review Governor Toshihiko Fukui said the Bank will continue to do its utmost to meet the challenges currently facing the economy and to secure its future economic prospects…
Fukui sees lights of hope for the Japanese economy
In a speech to the National Securities Industry Convention given on 18 September, Toshihiko Fukui of the Bank of Japan said the Japanese economy as well as the financial system is still burdened with a number of difficulties. Nevertheless, lights of hope…
Li Ruogu: Financial Supervision and central banks
In a speech on 'The Role of the Central Bank in Financial Supervision' given on 26 August, Li Ruogu of the People's Bank of China said that China established the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) in April this year as a special watchdog for the…
Jenkins on Monetary Policy and Managing Change
In a speech on 'Monetary Policy and Managing Change' given on 30 September Paul Jenkins of the Bank of Canada reviewed the contribution that Canadian monetary policy makes in helping Canadians adapt to change. He also discusses the rationale for…
ECB: 'No comment' on Japan's MOF selling yen
A spokesman for the European Central Bank declined to comment on Japan's Ministry of Finance statement that it had sold yen heavily in the foreign exchange markets on Tuesday 30 September, according to Reuters.