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Greenspan: Economic signals still mixed
In testimony on Wednesday 21 May Alan Greenspan said the Federal Reserve is ready and able to tackle deflation if necessary in the unlikely event of falling prices, the washington Post reports. The Federal Reserve would not be "out of business" policy…
Bank of England - Annual Report 2003
The Bank of England has published its Annual Report for the year 2003. In his last foreword to the annual report, governor Eddie George said the Bank did not appreciate fully the extent and speed of the changes it was about to experience - changes which…
Keeping it real - Trichet is an Ali G fan
Governor of the Bank of France Jean Claude Trichet recently revealed he is a fan of Ali G, a comedy character from the UK, reports the Independent.
Bosnian Presidency reappoints c. bank governor
Peter Nicholl was reappointed governor of the central bank of Bosnia-Hercegovina on Tuesday by Borislav Paravac, the Bosnian President. Nicholl agreed to stay Governor of the central bank until the end of 2004, following which current Vice-Governor…
Bank of England voted 5-4 to hold rates
Policy makers at the Bank of England voted by a narrow five to four margin to keep its lending rate unchanged at 3.75pc earlier this month, BizWorld reports. The four MPC members calling for a rate cut were all external members of the Committee.
Trade Union leader appointed to BOE's Court
UK chancellor Gordon Brown announced the appointment of the head of the Trades Union Congress, Brendan Barber, to the court of directors of the Bank of England on Wednesday.
Bank of England MPC Minutes 7/8 May 2003
Minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee Meeting were released on 21 May for the meeting of 7 and 8 May 2003. The minutes showed that Christopher Allsopp, Kate Barker, Marian Bell and Stephen Nickell voted for a 25 basis point rate cut…
Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report, April 2003
The Bundesbank said in its April 2003 monthly report that consumer prices continued to rise in March, albeit at a somewhat slower pace than before. The seasonally adjusted increase went down to 0.2%. The year-on-rate of increase fell to 1.2% from 1.3% in…
RBNZ unveils schools monetary policy competition
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Wednesday May 21 launched its second Monetary Policy Challenge aimed at secondary school economics students. The competition involves teams of students becoming, in effect, central bankers. Participants will need to…
Kuwait Islamic Banking Law opens doors for others
An article in Arab News says Kuwait's long-awaited Islamic banking law leaves Saudi Arabia and Oman the only two Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states which do not have an Islamic banking law in place.
IMF urge currency flexibility for Kenya's c bank
The IMF has apparently been encouraging the central bank of Kenya to allow the exchange rate to be more flexible than it has been in the past, according to the Daily Nation.
Economic analysts dismiss threat of US 'deflation'
At its twice yearly meeting in Washington the Shadow Open Market Committee said deflation fears are unfounded and misguided, according to VOA News.
ECB eye Hitachi micro chip to prevent note forgery
A report noted by Kyodo Newsby says the European Central Bank is looking into the idea of using integrated circuit chips in bank notes to prevent forgery.
BCCI defence costing Bank of England £1m a month
The High Court in London heard on Monday 19 May that the Bank of England is spending more than £1m a month to fight allegations that it recklessly mishandled the regulation of BCCI, according to the Financial Times.
Russia's chief banker briefs Putin on inflation
Speaking on Channel One TV in Russia, Sergey Ignatyev said the central bank must continue to strengthen banking supervision and that over a number of years, we will deliver full convertibility for the rouble.
Reserve Bank overplayed its hand, says Visa
The start of the law suit bought by major credit card companies against the Reserve Bank of Australia heard arguments on Tuesday 20 May that the central bank had overstepped its statutory powers by introducing reforms to credit card interchange fees,…
Fed Chairman to emphasise financial education
Alan Greenspan will stress the benefits of economic and financial education in a public service announcement and during a visit to a Washington, D.C., school. He will also be featured in a public service announcement to be aired by major television and…
IMF warns of high German deflation risk
The IMF has warned in a report that Germany is at high risk of deflation with Japan and other regions vulnerable to further price declines, according to Reuters. However, the report saw a low risk of deflation in the US.
Experts want Nigeria's central bank split into two
A team of experts from the IMF, Bank of England, CBN and key areas has recommended splitting the central bank of Nigeria into two separate institutions with different responsibilities, according to a report from This Day News.
China to open gold trade to individuals
The Shanghai Gold Exchange, China's only gold exchange, may expand to allow individual investors to buy or sell gold later this year, reports the China Daily.
EU's pact is a false promise of stability-Stiglitz
In an article in Business day (South Africa), Joseph Stiglitz says the lesson for Europe is clear: the EU should redefine its stability pact in terms of the structural or full employment deficit to what the fiscal deficit would be if the economy were…
Indonesia's parliament names new deputy governor
Hartadi Sarwono was elected as a deputy governor of Bank Indonesia on Tuesday 20 May by a parliamentary committee and Burhanuddin Abdullah was sworn in as the new governor of the central bank, according to a Dow Jones report.
Lebanon c bank asks IT experts about web security
The central bank of Lebanon has invited all Lebanese and foreign companies in the area of IT to a general pre-qualification process for the creation of a secure IT infrastructure for the central bank, according to The Daily Star.
Fukui says BOJ stance is to act preemptively
The Bank of Japan acted in what was described as a pre-emptive strike on Tuesday May 29, easing monetary policy in a bid to raise its target for banks' excess reserves to around 27-30 trillion yen according to a Reuters report.