Articles by Yusuf Yassin
UK inflation climbs to 4.5%
CPI inflation rises to 4.5% in April due to higher transport costs; prompts Bank of England governor Mervyn King to send sixth consecutive letter to chancellor
Bini Smaghi favourite to next lead Bank of Italy
Analysts say European Central Bank executive board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi is strong candidate to lead Bank of Italy should current governor Mario Draghi move to Frankfurt
Grameen Bank dodges Yunus departure by appointing Nobel Laureate as chairman
Bangladesh’s Supreme Court rejects appeal to dismissal of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus from Grameen Bank; microlender appoints Yunus to chair its board instead
Bailout package offers hope for Portugal
Lisbon accepts €78 billion bailout as part of deal to reduce deficit to 3% of GDP by 2013; analysts say preliminary terms of deal positive for sovereign
Wellink clarifies position on Greece restructuring
Media reports suggest Netherlands Bank president Nout Wellink is open to a debt restructuring for Greece; central bank spokesperson denies suggestions, says president’s views remain in line with European Central Bank
China to broaden cross-border renminbi trade settlement
People’s Bank of China director of monetary policy Li Bo says central bank plans to expand pilot for cross-border renminbi trade to more regions on the mainland
Greece deficit revision sparks default concerns from analysts
Eurostat revises Greece’s deficit to GDP upwards by almost a percentage point; analysts reiterate need for Greece to restructure debt
Kosovo’s acting governor to take helm of central bank permanently
Kosovo selects acting head of Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo Gani Gërguri to replace former governor Hashim Rexhepi
Austria’s Ittner calls on domestic banks to raise capital buffers
National Bank of Austria executive director Andreas Ittner says country’s largest banks will need to raise their Tier I capital ratio to meet foreign competition
Singapore challenges Hong Kong over global yuan hub status
Singapore agrees to open Chinese bank to clear yuan trades; Hong Kong’s plans to become centre for offshore yuan trade at risk
Greek budget cuts raise default concerns
Markets prepare for the worst as Athens unveils new tougher austerity measures; IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn says cuts are necessary
Risk management reforms a work in progress: IIF survey
Institute of International Finance survey says further progress on risk management reforms necessary; calls for more work to promote appropriate risk culture
Iceland in talks to avoid downgrade following 'no' vote
Governor Már Guðmundsson talks to rating agencies after Icelanders reject second Icesave deal
Belgium unveils financial health indicator
National Bank of Belgium designs financial health indicator to monitor risk of company failures; says probability of bankruptcy higher than 25% for least financially sound
Sepa end-dates should be set in stone: ECB
European Central Bank proposes concrete end-dates for migration to Single Euro Payments Area
Moody’s downgrades Portugal again
Moody’s cuts Portugal’s credit rating by one notch to Baa1 as political uncertainty continues to cloud medium-term financing
Wellink challenges ECB bond purchase programme
Netherlands Bank governor Nout Wellink calls for reduction of European Central Bank support in bond markets
Bullard calls for “last in, first out” approach to Fed exit strategy
St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard says offloading assets from Fed's balance sheet before raising interest rates is his preferred exit strategy from accommodative monetary policy stance
SNB counters IMF call for rate hike
IMF calls for Swiss National Bank to start raising interest rates; central bank fears rate hike could “dampen” export growth in Switzerland
Geopolitical factors won’t stop ECB rate hike, say analysts
Analysts expect the European Central Bank to raise interest rates at the upcoming monetary policy meeting, despite fears events in Japan and the Middle East may offset the global recovery
BoE's chief economist says global inflationary pressures prompted rate hike vote
Bank of England chief economist Spencer Dale says risks associated with global price pressures and prolonged periods of inflation were behind call to raise interest rates
UK inflation expectations rise
Bank of England survey on public attitudes to inflation show rise in inflation expectations
Moody’s Portugal downgrade sparks further speculation of bailout
Moody’s cuts Portugal’s credit rating by two notches to A3 on weaker growth prospects; analyst says bailout expected in coming months
Lawmakers grill BoE’s court over stability mandate
UK Treasury Committee query whether Bank of England’s Court of Directors is up to the task of monitoring the activities of the Financial Policy Committee