Monetary Policy
High demand expected for new China bonds
China has reportedly appointed Merrill Lynch to co-ordinate the US dollar part of its planned sovereign foreign bond issue, Business Monitor International said. The issue was reported to be worth between US$1.5bn and US$2.0bn.
BIS Quarterly Review, September 2004
Emerging market countries, notably in Asia, were proving to be among the most active international borrowers and depositors in overseas banks this year, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said in its Quarterly Review, September 2004.
Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report, August 2004
German business confidence dropped for the third month in four in August and the number of unemployed rose to the highest since May of last year. The surge in oil prices to record levels this year may further delay a recovery in consumer spending, the…
Bank of Israel - Annual Report 2003
The Bank of Israel has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. The report says there was a turnaround in 2003 and economic activity rallied: GDP and business-sector product rose, after declining in the two previous years. The recovery was…
Nickell warns on UK house prices
In a speech on 'Household debt, house prices and consumption growth' given on 14 September, Stephen Nickell of the Bank of England said there is a significant probability that house prices in the UK will fall at some stage though it is hard to say how…
IMF's Krueger supports Russian central bank
IMF First Deputy Managing Director Anne Krueger said at a press conference on Monday 13 September that the International Monetary Fund supports actions by the Central Bank of Russia to regulate the recent unstable situation in the country's banking…
RBI may revise inflation target
The Reserve Bank of India, which is closely monitoring inflation, now at 8.33 per cent, may revise its annual target of 5-5.5 per cent in the busy season credit policy next month, according to RBI deputy governor Rakesh Mohan.
Papua New Guinea central bank posts record profit
The Bank of Papua New Guinea posted a record profit of 68m kina for last year on Tuesday. The bank posted a profit of 54m kina in 2002 and paid 50m kina of that to the state.
Poole on challenges for US businesses
At a panel discussion on the challenges for U.S. businesses which took place on 10 September, William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said the large U.S. current account deficit does not worry him as it implies a capital account surplus,…
Sweden's Persson: structural reform and employment
Deputy Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank Kristina Persson on Monday September 13 gave her view of economic developments at a seminar in Paris arranged by the Swedish Center for Business and Policy Studies and the Swedish Chamber of Commerce.
BoJ's Monetary Policy Meeting, 9/10 August
The Bank of Japan released the minutes from its 9 and 10 August meeting on 14 September. In the minutes of its monthly meeting the BoJ cautioned that high oil prices will have a negative impact on the Japanese economy.
'No urgency' to lift rates says Fed's Bies
Federal Reserve Governor Susan Bies said the central bank faces ``no urgency'' to lift the benchmark U.S. interest rate while awaiting more evidence that economic expansion is steady.
BOJ may hold rates down until 2008
The Bank of Japan may hold its key interest rate near zero per cent until 2008 as declines in rice and electricity prices fuel deflation, Mizuho Securities Co. economist Yasunari Ueno wrote in a report, according to Bloomberg News.
ECB's Trichet says he's still 'Mr Euro'
ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said Saturday he remained firmly in place as "Mr Euro" despite the appointment of Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker as the political face of the 12-nation eurozone.
Yellen on US economic and monetary policy
In a speech on US economic and monetary policy given on 9 September, Janet Yellen of the San Francisco Fed said the Fed's overnight interest rate remains well below the neutral level, so there is "a strong presumption that rates will need to keep going…
Cleveland's Pianalto: an economic perspective
In a speech on 'A National Economic Perspective' given on 10 September, Sandra Pianalto of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland said US interest rates should rise to avoid future price pressures, but conceded that inflation did not pose a major threat…
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, September 2004
The Bank of Japan released the English version of its September 2004 monthly report on 13 September. In the report the bank said Japan's economy continues to recover. But the report also says exports and industrial production increased at a slower pace,…
Rate hikes can be measured, says Dallas Fed chief
Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert McTeer said on Friday 10 September that he believed further interest rate increases could be measured and noted that economic growth would be stronger in the months ahead.
IMF's Krueger to visit Moscow
The International Monetary Fund's First Deputy Managing Director Anne Krueger will be visiting Moscow September 12- 15, IMF External Relations Department Director Thomas Dawson announced in Washington on Thursday 9 September.
ECB chief economist says Pact losing its bite
The European Central Bank's chief economist has described the current status of the eurozone's Stability and Growth Pact as 'intolerable'. Otmar Issing told the German newspaper Die Welt that without a credible threat of sanctions, the pact was 'losing…
Weak EU growth threat to recovery: UK's Brown
Weak economic growth in the European Union is threatening the "uneven and fragile" global recovery, British Treasury chief Gordon Brown said in comments published on Friday 10 September.
Global recovery on track, say G10 central bankers
The global economic recovery is on track but monetary authorities have to remain vigilant against inflationary dangers, the G10 central bank governors said on Monday 13 Septemberin Basel, Switzerland.
Richmond Fed's Economic Quarterly, Summer 2004
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has published its Economic Quarterly for Summer 2004. The paper "How do central banks control inflation?" says an intellectual consensus over how central banks control inflation has not accompanied the broad public…
Argentine protesters at IMF storm cb building
About 400 protesters waving banners marched into the main entrance of the central bank of Argentina in Buenos Aires last week, calling for President Nestor Kirchner to end relations with the International Monetary Fund.