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Zimbabwe's central bankers urged to go
Things aren't getting any less desperate in Zimbabwe, which is in the thick of a crippling cash crisis, now that parliament is demanding that the central bank management just leave.
Cricketing King's unlikely heroes
When Mervyn King was the guest of honour last week at the lunch-time chat on BBC Radio 4's cricket programme "Test Match Special", he revealed his affection for - and knowledge of - the game as well as a certain ambition for socialite status. The…
Philippine central bankers to defend integrity
Four senior officials at the central bank in the Philippines, including the governor Rafael Buenaventura and his deputy Alberto Reyes, are getting heat from lawmen, accused of being "administratively liable of gross neglect of duty".
Bank of Japan at the cutting edge
Toshihiko Fukui, Japan's central bank governor, keeps up with the times. He openly admits to entertaining his runaway addiction to the latest in mobile phone technology and is shortly to experience the unbridled pleasure of getting the NTT DoCoMo 505i…
All's well in the euro zone
Contrary to incessant and repetitive media mutterings about the sickly euro zone economy, it would seem that in fact all is well. So well, in fact, that the ECB has decided that there is really no need for its forthcoming fortnightly meeting because…
Basel updates know-your-customer rules
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has proposed an undated set of know-your-customer rules desinged to stop large international banks being used by criminals or terrorists.
Bank of England Minutes 6 & 7 August
Bank of England Minutes for meetings of 6 & 7 August in which the MPC voted unanimously to leave rates on hold.
ECB's Solans on global economic statistics
Eugenio Domingo Solans, of the ECB's Executive Board, talks on the importance of reliable and harmonised statistics, without which European Monetary Union would not have been possible, he says. However the "ultimate goal" is to reach a similar degree of…
IMF Survey on global economic outlook
The latest IMF survey has been issued, which states that following its Article IV consultation with the US it concluded that "a durable economic upswing was not a foregone conclusion", raising concerns about fiscal sustainability.
Fuss over Mboweni's pay rise
Tito Mboweni, governor of the South African Reserve Bank, has been criticised for the fact that his pay rise of 9% this year turned out to be higher than the inflation target, reports the Mail & Guardian. He does not set his own salary however, the bank…
UK MPC unanimous on August rate hold
All nine members of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee voted to leave interest rates on hold at 3.5%earlier this month, minutes of their meeting showed on Wednesday, reports the Financial Times. The quarter point cut in July had been…
Broaddus: Fed can maintain low rates
The Fed can maintain an accommodative monetary policy until the US output gap narrows, said Alfred Broaddus, president of the Richmond Fed in a television interview on Wednesday, according to a report by Reuters.
Egyptian cb reorganised
The Egyptian government has slimmed down the decision-making body of the Central Bank of Egypt, appointing a new seven-member committee to set short-term monetary policy and supervise the banking sector. This structure replaces the previous board of 11…
Balcerowicz urges fiscal reform in Poland
Polish central bank governor Leszek Balcerowicz has urged the government to undertake serious fiscal reform measures, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. If Poland is to avoid repeating Argentina's mistakes, there is a simple choice: "Either tolerance…
Political support needed for Africa currency union
Africa's central bank governors gathered together to discuss the possibility of forming a regional currency union, but concluded that however desirable and technically feasible it may be, it cannot be done without the support of politicians, reported the…
US inflation measures compared
Keeping a close eye on changes in consumer prices is a key aspect of central banks' task to keep inflation low and stable. But measuring the changes and agreeing on the measure is not straightforward. A recent Economic Letter from the San Francisco Fed…
Eurozone in your pocket
The ECB launched its latest periodical: "Statistics Pocket Book" on August 15. Updated monthly, the guide offers the latest key economic figures for the eurozone in a handy-size book.
Balance sheet approach to financial crisis
A IMF note summarises the main conclusions from the working paper "A Balance Sheet Approach to Financial Crisis". It describes the conceptual framework of the balance sheet approach and how it has been reflected in the Fund's work.
RBA asset bubbles conference
The Reserve Bank of Australia 2003 conference, 'Asset Prices and Monetary Policy', was held at the H.C. Coombs Centre for Financial Studies, in Sydney on 18 and 19 August 2003. The conference focused on the implications of asset price booms for the…
Swedish cabinet split over euro decision
The Swedish government, already split over whether to join the euro, was headed for crisis on Tuesday amid reports of an imminent cabinet reshuffle, reports Eubuisiness.com. The national referendum on whether to join the single currency is to be held on…
European inflation dips below ECB's target
Inflation in the eurozone dipped below 2% for July, according to Eurostat. The figure of 1.9% was down from 2% in June, helped by a 0.2% drop in prices - the largest monthly fall in two years, reports the Financial Times.
RBNZ buys BIS shares
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand today announced that it had accepted an offer to become a shareholder in the BIS. The cost of the BIS shareholding is approximately NZ$100m (almost US$60m,) which has been raised from the Reserve Bank's balance sheet. In…
BIS on cross-border cooperation for Basel II
The Bank for International Settlements today issued a report outlining principles for closer cross-border cooperation between supervisors on the new Basel Accord.
European lawmaker calls for action on euro fakes
Christa Randzio-Plath, chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, has called for an "urgent and concerted" effort to tackle counterfeits euro banknotes. These have included a €300 note.