Monetary Policy
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, July 2004
The Chicago Fed National Activity index rose to +0.35 in July from a downward-revised reading of -0.19 the previous month. Most of the increase in July's CFNAI resulted from a big swing in the contribution from production-related indicators, from -0.25…
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Sep/Oct 2004
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for September-October 2004 includes the articles "Trends in the efficiency of Federal Reserve check processing operations" and "Testing the expectations hypothesis: Some new evidence for Japan" and …
Too soon to evaluate long term rate falls,Takenaka
Japanese Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Heizo Takenaka said it is too soon to form any opinions about the meaning of the recent decline in long-term domestic interest rates.
World Bank sees oil price affecting growth
High oil prices threaten to slow the world economic growth rate by up to 0.2 percent, World Bank chief economist Francois Bourguignon has said.
ASEAN must be open to global economy: Megawati
Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri said in Jakarta on Friday 3 September that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must remain open to the global economy.
West African central bank to withdraw CFA notes
The Central Bank of West African States said it was to withdraw all CFA franc banknotes from circulation by the end of the year, in what a report said Saturday was an attempt to crack down on "dirty" money from bank robberies.
Reserve Bank of Australia - Annual Report 2004
The Reserve Bank of Australia has published its Annual Report for 2004. After a temporary weak spot in the middle of 2003, the world economic recovery resumed in 2003/04. In Australia it was a year of good growth and low inflation as we completed the…
Canada's Longworth on monetary policy, uncertainty
In a speech on 'Monetary Policy and Uncertainty' given on 23 August, David Longworth of the Bank of Canada discusses various types of uncertainty and how the Bank of Canada deals with them in conducting monetary policy.
IMF's Rato to visit South Africa and Burkina Faso
Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, will travel to Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa on September 6-7, and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, September 8-9. This is Mr. de Rato's second trip to Africa since becoming…
Bank of Canada Review, Summer 2004
The Bank of Canada has published its Review for Summer 2004. The Review contains four articles including "The Canadian Experience with Counterfeiting" which proposes a composite method of detecting counterfeits as an effective alternative to existing…
BOJ increases share buying in late August
The Bank of Japan reported on Thursday 2 September that it had purchased a cumulative 1.988 trillion yen ($18.2 bn) of shares by August 31, a slight increase from the 1.985 trillion it had held by August 20.
EU set to relax eurozone budget rules
The European Union was set to propose loosening its much-criticised budget rules supporting the euro on Friday 3 September, by allowing countries with economic troubles to be exempt from the uniform standard for deficits in favour of country specific…
China appoint Yu Yongding to monetary policy board
The People's Bank of China has formally announced the appointment of Yu Yongding to its monetary policy committee to replace Li Yang as the only financial expert on the 13-member board, XFN-Asia reported.
Bank of Estonia - Annual Report 2003
The Bank of Estonia has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. The Baltic and Central European countries continued their brisk preparations for EU accession in 2003, the annual report says. Changes were made in tax systems and their…
Papademos at the Euro Banknote Design Exhibition
In a speech at the Opening of the Euro Banknote Design Exhibition given on 11 August, Lucas Papademos of the ECB said our common currency, the euro, whose creation has inspired the many attractive designs that are on display here, also stands for a…
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Aug 2004
According to the firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey, August 2004, activity in the manufacturing sector continues to expand, but the pace of growth is slower than last month. However, participants' optimism for general…
NZ's Bollard on the property sector
In the speech 'What's happening in the property sector?' given on 2 September, Alan Bollard of the RBNZ reminded investors in property - rural, industrial and commercial, and residential - that property markets are inherently subject to cycles and market…
HKMA's Yam on century-old treasures
In a speech on 'Century-old Treasures' given on 2 September, Joseph Yam of the HKMA officiated at the launch of a special set of 'Hong Kong Currency' stamps. He said this is a particularly memorable occasion as it is the first time that Hong Kong has…
ECB press conference with questions and answers
At the ECB's press conference on Thursday 2 September, after holding eurozone interest rates unchanged, Jean-Claude Trichet said looking ahead, the conditions for a continuation of the recovery remain in place. We expect the economic recovery in the euro…
Buba's Stark sceptical on budget pledge
The Bundesbank believes the German public deficit, set to exceed EU limits for the third year in a row this year, will again be higher than the European Stability and Growth Pact allows next year, the financial daily Boersen-Zeitung reported.
Tuma defends CNB's independence
Czech National Bank Governor Zdenek Tuma on Wednesday 1 September defended the central bank's independence and rejected public comments by government officials arguing against a recent increase in interest rates.
PBOC says looser macro controls risk overheating
China's central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, warned on Thursday 2 September in a statement on the People's Bank of China website that Beijing risks another round of economic overheating if it relaxes its macro administrative controls too early.
Fukui says Japan headed toward sustainable growth
Japan's economy is moving toward sustainable growth, Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said on Thursday 2 September, pledging to maintain interest rates almost at zero while pumping money into the financial system.
Guynn on responding to global competitive pressure
In the speech 'Responding to global competitive pressure' given on 25 August Jack Guynn of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said a recent dip in U.S. growth will likely prove temporary and should not alter a Federal Reserve plan to gradually raise…