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France bids tearless farewell to franc
FEATURE - After 650 years of history, the franc disappears this weekend with about as much ceremony as the muttered address at the funeral of a forgotten relative.
Bangladesh talks with IMF fail
BANGLADESH - Negotiations between Bangladesh and the International Monetary Fund for an emergency balance of payments loan have failed.
India frees up bank investment rules
INDIA - Shares in India's leading banks have jumped by as much as 20%, after the government relaxed its rules on foreign investment.
UK to encourage Islamic mortgages
UK - Moves by the UK Treasury and the Bank of England to encourage Islamic mortgages, investments and current accounts in Britain may be under way.
Bush gaffe hits yen
US - A remark by US President George W Bush about "devaluation" in Japan has caused confusion in the currency markets.
BOK to introduce cyber credit card in October
SOUTH KOREA - The Bank of Korea (BOK) is moving to introduce an online cyber credit card which will be available in October this year.
Central bank intervention and foreign ex rates
RESEARCH - Michel Beine, Agnes Benassy-Quere, Christelle Lecourt, Central bank intervention and foreign exchange rates: new evidence from FIGARCH estimations from the Journal Of International Money And Finance, Volume 21, Issue 1, 01-February-2002.
Argentine Senator revises history
FEATURE - At a conference in London this week, Dr Rodolfo Terragno, a member of the Argentine Senate, set out to refute what he termed as the "fairy tale" version of events that shroud Argentina's experience over the past decade. He wanted to expunge any…
Speech by J.C. Trichet of Banque de France, 12 Feb
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'The Euro and the Monetary Union' Bank of France Governor Jean-Claude Trichet said there were signs that the European and United States economies were bottoming out after their recent slump. "As regards the present situation…
RBA says Australia's prospects pretty good
AUSTRALIA - The Reserve Bank of Australia said on Monday there were good reasons to be confident about the domestic economy over 2002, but warned that Japan remained the biggest risk to a global recovery.
Speech by Glenn Stevens of the RBA, 18 Feb
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'The Economic Outlook in 2002' Stevens said economic prospects were "pretty good", although there could be a weak patch during 2002.
Czech central banker opposes ERM
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech Republic should spend as little time as possible in an exchange-rate mechanism prior to adoption of the euro, said the central bank's governor, Zdenek Tuma.
Some EU countries already vying for No. 2 ECB spot
EUROPE - Just days after Wim Duisenberg announced he would resign next year as president of the European Central Bank, some countries began suggesting they would like one of their own in the central bank's No. 2 seat, which opens up at the end of May…
Gold bugs should not get too excited
AUSTRALIA - Predictions of a sustained increase in gold prices are not expected to be realised. The reason for the lack of a sustained revival is the poor business foundations of the gold industry.
Barclays chief hits out at watchdogs
UK - The head of banking giant Barclays has warned City watchdogs against imposing overzealous regulation, or risk seeing financial services business lost abroad.
Latvian parliament approves bank's vice president
LATVIA - The Latvian parliament Thursday almost unanimously approved as central bank vice-president Andris Ruselis, recommended for the office by Bank of Latvia president.
Australian Reserve Bank's credit-card plan slated
AUSTRALIA - MasterCard said it will consider scaling back its Australian operations if the central bank proceeds with its plan to cut credit-card fees and open the credit-card system to new participants.
Fed ready to raise rates this year - Guynn
US - The Federal Reserve may start reversing its series of 11 interest rate cuts if a stronger-than-expected recovery this year rekindles inflation concerns, says Jack Guynn, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Polish bank cautious about economic plan
POLAND - Two weeks after Poland's government issued an ambitious five-year strategy to kick-start slumping economic growth, the National Bank of Poland has maintained a stony silence.
Niedermayer to CNB board with effect from 27 Feb
CZECH REPUBLIC - President Vaclav Havel today re-appointed central bank CNB vice-governor Ludek Niedermayer to the Bank Board for another six-year term, with effect from 27 February.
Riksbank's general council backs extra dividend
SWEDEN - The General Council of Sweden's Riksbank Friday presented a proposal to the Swedish parliament recommending that an additional SEK20 billion of the central bank's net income for 2001 be transferred to the Treasury.
Dutch c bank issues credit derivatives guidelines
NETHERLANDS - The Dutch central bank said Friday that it has issued guidelines to the Dutch financial sector on the use of credit derivatives to spread risks.
Watch the Fed for clues to rise in gold sector
FEATURE - Gold has broken out and there is no shortage of theories as to why and where it's going from here. But, according to Chad Williams, investors should pay no attention to outlooks based on supply and demand, hedging, central bank sales or even…
Vietnam c bank governor has no bank account-media
VIETNAM - Vietnam's central bank Governor Le Duc Thuy, who is leading a campaign to reduce the country's reliance on cash transactions, has admitted he does not have a credit card, or a personal bank account.