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President Mugabe hits out at devaluation advocates
ZIMBABWE - President Robert Mugabe publicly hit out at his Finance Minister Simba Makoni last week, branding him an economic saboteur. He also contradicted Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Leonard Tsumba as cracks within the government widened.
New governor chosen for Uruguay's central bank
URUGUAY - Ruling coalition Senator Alejandro Atchugarry has assumed the post of economy minister and economist Julio De Brun has been chosen to head the central bank. The former economy minister and central bank president resigned citing lack of…
SEC chairman Pitt asks for promotion
US - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Harvey Pitt, again exhibiting a flair for the political miscue, was under attack 24 July, reports Reuters, for seeking a promotion and a pay raise.
Fed's Olson - US in recovery but it will be slow
US - The United States is clearly in a recovery but the rebound from last year's brief recession is likely to be slow, Federal Reserve governor Mark Olson said on Friday.
Speech by Anne Krueger, Dep MD of the IMF, 17 July
SPEECH - In a speech titled 'Crisis Prevention and Resolution: Lessons from Argentina' Krueger said "We have seen some welcome progress in key policy areas, including satisfactory amendments to the insolvency law and the repeal of the economic subversion…
Bank of England Working Paper
RESEARCH - On gross worker flows in the United Kingdom: evidence from the Labour Force Survey, by Brian Bell and James Smith.
Speech by Fed Reserve Governor Mark Olson, 26 July
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Economic change in rural America' Olson said that the relatively mild recession suffered by the U.S. last year suggests the recovery won't be all that spectacular. "It is clear we are in a recovery period, but it's also…
Obituary for Rudiger Dornbusch
OBITUARY - Rudiger Dornbusch, always known as Rudi, died last week at the age of 60. He was one of the most inspirational and innovative academic economists of his generation.
Russian court overturns acquittal of ex-c banker
RUSSIA - A Moscow court has overruled the acquittal of a Central Bank official charged with abuse of office for giving a loan to a troubled bank and ordered a retrial, news reports said.
Czech interest rates cut to stem rise of currency
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech central bank yesterday cut interest rates to lower than in the eurozone, in an attempt to halt the headlong appreciation of the country's currency.
Japan-style financial crisis looms for Taiwan
ARTICLE - A researcher with the Asian Development Bank Institute said Thursday that indications are Taiwan may be due for a crisis like the one that hit Japan in 1997.
IMF-experts: Argentina crisis bottoming out
ARGENTINA - The four monetary experts chosen by the IMF believe Argentina may have touched bottom after four years of recession and see potential for an export-led recovery, an official briefed on the talks said on Thursday.
ECB expansion raises questions of independence
ARTICLE - Will new entrants to the monetary union significantly alter Euroland monetary policy? They could, unless voting rules at the ECB's Governing Council are carefully examined to avoid the possibility of regional bias. Article from the Taipei Times…
Structural problems must be confronted says Rubin
SINGAPORE - Two of the world's major economies, Japan and the European Union (EU), need vital structural reforms if they are to achieve sustainable growth, former US treasury secretary Robert Rubin said on Thursday.
Cullen calls for RBNZ to copy Australia's c bank
NEW ZEALAND - Finance Minister Michael Cullen has called for New Zealand's central bank to model itself on the Reserve Bank of Australia, which pursues a 2-3% inflation target.
Euro-zone current account moves to surplus in May
GERMANY - The current account for the 12-nation euro zone showed a surplus of 100 million euros (dollars) in May compared with a deficit of 2.2 billion euros in May 2001, the European Central Bank reported Friday.
Dutch auction won't depreciate Naira, says CBN
NIGERIA - The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that contrary to speculation, the newly introduced Dutch Auction System (DAS) in the nation's foreign exchange market would not lead to the depreciation of the naira.
Many hurdles before one African currency - Mboweni
SOUTH AFRICA - Many hurdles would have to be overcome before the newly-formed African Union (AU) could form a single currency for the continent, South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Thursday.
BIS consolidated international banking statistics
REPORT - The BIS consolidated international banking statistics - first quarter 2002, released 26 July. The statistics highlight a sharp decline in Japanese banks international positions during the first quarter of this year. Over the same period in…
BIS Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - BIS consolidated banking statistics for the first quarter of 2002, 26 July.
Sources challenge role of IMF led Argentina panel
ARGENTINA - Insiders close to the talks currently being held suggest the real purpose of the panel of wise men picked by the IMF to help Argentina is not to give economic advice but rather to decide how to allocate the huge losses incurred by Argentina's…
Rumours persist of emergency fed meeting
US - The US Federal Reserve refused to comment Wednesday on rumours that it was considering an emergency meeting in response to the collapse in the stock markets.
Putin and c bank chief discuss inflation, gold
RUSSIA - On Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin and Central Bank chief Sergey Ignatyev discussed the macroeconomic situation in Russia.