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Dollar falls as Saudi investors withdraw billions
SAUDI ARABIA - The dollar today fell from recent highs against the euro and yen following a report that Saudi investors were pulling billions of dollars out of the US.
Chicago Fed's Moskow sees ongoing U.S. expansion
US - Chicago Federal Reserve President Michael Moskow said Wednesday that he expected the U.S. economy to keep growing, while warning that the path back to its potential growth rate could be rocky.
Philippines central bank tightens rules on credit
PHILIPPINES - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is set to issue this week a circular restraining banks and credit card companies from issuing pre-approved "plastic money" and requiring them to adopt a stricter system of screening credit card applications.
Young blood for MAS' senior ranks
SINGAPORE - Nine officers at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, whose average age is 40, will move into key positions as part of organisational revamp, the Singapore Straits Times reported on Tuesday.
RBA's Macfarlane signals rates may head higher
AUSTRALIA - Reserve Bank Governor Ian Macfarlane on Wednesday delivered an upbeat view of the Australian economy, warned of a looming shakeout in property and signalled that the bank remains on course to raise interest rates once global uncertainties…
SARB inflation target seen as out of reach
SOUTH AFRICA - Consumer inflation surprised on the upside last month, fuelling expectations that the Reserve Bank's targets for next year are getting out of reach, though Business Day reports economists said they did not expect interest rates to rise…
Philadelphia Fed's Santomero says policy is right
US - Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Anthony Santomero said on Wednesday that the economic recovery, while more modest than expected, should move forward and that the Fed's current policy stance is appropriate.
Wage restraint could bring rate cuts for Norway
NORWAY - Norway's central bank governor said on Wednesday that demand and activity in Norway's oil-backed economy was still high but that lower wage growth could provide a basis for lower interest rates.
New Bank of England £5 notes reissued
UK - The Bank of England is to restart distribution of the new £5 notes. The notes have already been delivered to banks and post offices, and from Wednesday morning are being made available to the public.
Sticky prices: the impact of regulation
RESEARCH - The Journal of Monetary Economics, May 2002, contains a paper, 'Sticky prices: the impact of regulation'. The paper finds that approximately one-third of the items in the CPI are governed by price regulations that can slow and add noise to the…
Monetary Authority of Macau - Annual Report 2001
ANNUAL REPORT - The Monetary Authority of Macau has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2001.
Speech by Svein Gjedrem of Norges Bank, 21 Aug
SPEECH - On Wednesday Gjedrem said in a speech titled 'Monetary policy in an oil economy' that lower wage growth would boost earnings and employment. In addition, interest rates could be reduced. He added that activity in the Norwegian economy as a whole…
Speech by Anne Krueger of the IMF, 26 Jul
SPEECH - In the speech 'Preventing and Resolving Financial Crises: The Role of Sovereign Debt Restructuring' Krueger said the various elements she discussed add up to "an ambitious agenda that will help us prevent crises where we can, and manage them as…
Federal Reserve Board, Press Release, 20 Aug
PRESS RELEASE - The Federal Reserve Board announced on Tuesday that it will not, over the near term, incorporate two policy options into its longer-term Payments System Risk (PSR) policy plan. The Board will, however, continue to analyze the benefits and…
Bank of England News Release, 21 Aug
NEWS RELEASE - New Design £5 Banknotes. As announced on 14 August, the issue of the new Elizabeth Fry £5 banknote restarts on 21 August. This follows suspension of issuance on 27 May after it was discovered that on some notes it was possible to remove…
Speech by Ian Macfarlane of the RBA, 21 Aug
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'What Does Good Monetary Policy Look Like?' Macfarlane said the expected development of the domestic economy was still on track, but for the world economy, and particularly the US economy, some serious doubts had arisen. He…
Belarusia gets currency union proposal from Russia
BELARUSIAN - The National Bank of Belarus has received proposals from the Russian government and the Central Bank of Russia for an accelerated introduction of the Russian rouble as the single currency of the Belarusian-Russian union state, the National…
Reports Krueger unhappy with Argentina plan untrue
US - The International Monetary Fund said on Monday a report in a Brazilian newspaper saying a top IMF official is unhappy with economic plans Argentina sent to the fund on Friday is "absolutely" untrue reports Reuters.
Pakistan State Bank directs banks to set up ATM's
PAKISTAN - State Bank of Pakistan has directed all the domestic banks either to establish at least two auto-cash telling machine (ATMs) or join the existing Switch Network to ensure payment of salaries to government employees through ATM system.
CLS bank waits on Fed approval for FX settlement
UK - Settlement bank CLS, aiming to provide a global system to cut risk in settling currency deals, hopes for regulatory approval next month for a full commercial start in the last quarter of this year, Reuters reports a spokesman as saying.
Brazil banks to gain with new central bank rule
BRAZIL - A new regulation that requires banks to increase their deposit reserves with the central bank is expected to cause a gain of nearly 900mn reals (US$291mn) a year for the financial system as a whole, Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo reported.
Polish Statute questioned by Banking Supervisor
POLAND - Bank Gospodarki Zywnosciowej (BGZ) statute changes that would give the Polish state treasury a privileged position among shareholders have been challenged by the central bank president Leszek Balcerowicz, who also chairs the Banking Supervisory…
Romania c bank says inflation targeting off course
ROMANIA - Romania's National Bank (BNR) does not have all the necessary means to assume responsibility for attaining a clear inflation target, read the conclusion of a BNR study drafted by the bank's specialists, and coordinated by vice-governor Cristian…
Speech by C Popa, National Bank of Romania, 16 May
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Romania - Closer to the Euro' Cristian Popa, Vice-Governor of the National Bank of Romania, concluded that progress had been made in nominal and real convergence.