Monetary Policy
ADB meeting hears single currency decades away
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) annual meeting heard on Friday 14 May that East Asia's dream of a European Union-style single currency remains decades away, although initial steps have been taken towards regional economic and financial integration.
Japanese economy on right path says Tanigaki
Speaking on Friday 14 May, Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said that Japanese economic conditions were broadly positive at the moment despite some turbulence on the stock market.
World Bank 'missing' $100bn
Corruption may have sapped as much as $US100 billion from World Bank lending projects to help poor countries, a key US senator said on Friday 14 May.
ECB's Issing on asset prices and monetary policy
In the speech 'Financial Integration, Asset Prices and Monetary Policy' given on 10 May Otmar Issing of the ECB said other central banks have started to give greater weight to asset price developments. The RBNZ is a point in case he said. This release…
Tumpel-Gugerell: ECB role in financial integration
In the speech 'The Role of the ECB in Financial Integration' given on 11 May Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell of the ECB said the euro area offers opportunities to share risk and to allocate capital more efficiently to investment opportunities across all…
Fukui on economic growth and overcoming deflation
In the speech 'Achieving Sustainable Economic Growth and Overcoming Deflation' given on 13 May Toshihiko Fukui of the Bank of Japan said the BOJ will continue its extremely easy monetary policy in order to support private sector efforts to deal with…
Nyberg: Economic situation & the property market
Deputy Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank Lars Nyberg spoke Wednesday 12 May about the economic situation and the property market. He said price developments in the housing market are being talked about as a possible bubble and pose a risk of overheating.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, May 2004
The European Central Bank published its May 2004 Monthly Bulletin on 13 May. The ECB's regular quarterly "Survey of Professional Forecasters", contained in the report said the experts had revised downwards their growth forecast for this year to 1.6…
Professor Issing gives Mais lecture
As usual, the Mais lecture given at the Cass Business school, this year given by Professor Otmar Issing, chief economist and executive board member of the ECB, was a very pleasant City/academic occasion.
Moskow says Fed can raise rates gradually
The Federal Reserve intends to raise U.S. interest rates at a gradual pace, though much depends on developments in the economy, Chicago Fed President Michael Moskow said on Wednesday.
Weber urges spending cuts by German govt
In his first speech as Bundesbank president, Axel Weber urged the German government to cut spending and push ahead with key reforms to prioritise reining in the fiscal deficit below the 3-pct-of-GDP limit set by the EU stability and growth pact.
Greece presents special Olympic coin
Greece presented the first commemorative Olympics coin to be denominated in euros, aiming to raise funds for its overstretched Olympic budget. The coins were due to go on sale Thursday 13 May.
Trans-Tasman currency to be discussed
Australia's high commissioner to New Zealand is promoting a common currency between the two countries as a way to advance the trans-Tasman relationship.
Chicago Fed's Moskow on the US economic outlook
In the speech 'U.S. Economic Outlook' given on 11 May Michael Moskow of the Chicago Fed said while the rate of U.S. inflation appears to be on the rise, the increase is not substantial enough to worry about. He also said the current degree of policy…
Santomero on monetary policy and the economy
In the speech 'Monetary policy and the economy' given on 11 May Anthony Santomero of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said US monetary policy is unlikely to turn "restrictive" as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates at "a measured pace" in…
Bank of England Inflation Report, May 2004
The Bank of England published its May 2004 Inflation Report on 12 May. The report said inflation will accelerate above its 2 percent target by early 2006 and that the economy will expand quicker than it had forecast in February.
Consensus achieved on Basel II proposals
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision announced Monday 11 May that it has achieved consensus on the remaining issues regarding the proposals for a new international capital standard, known as Basel II.
Minutes from the Sveriges Riksbank Meeting, 28 Apr
Minutes of the Sveriges Riksbank Executive Board meeting on 28 April, published 12 May. One member summed up the discussion saying that as Swedish GDP growth would probably be somewhat more robust than forecast in the Inflation Report, inflation could…
Bergstrom on monetary policy & economic stability
In the speech 'Monetary policy and economic stability' given on 12 May Villy Bergstrom of the Sveriges Riksbank said there are dangers associated with the large interest rate cut enacted at the start of April because of the already robust international…
BOJ buys Y1.98 trln shares to May 10
The Bank of Japan said on Wednesday it had bought a cumulative 1.9799 trillion yen ($17.53 billion) of shares held by Japanese banks by May 10 under a programme aimed at reducing banks' exposure to stock market volatility.
BOJ must watch for overshoot in yields, Nakahara
Bank of Japan policy board member Shin Nakahara said on Wednesday that the BOJ must watch for any overshooting in long-term yields, in an attempt to reduce concerns as the economy recovers and speculation of a policy switch arises.
New IMF chief Rato says oil rise abrupt
New IMF managing director Rodrigo Rato said at his first news conference surging oil prices were disrupting financial markets. He also said the world economy was in an upswing with the prospect of only moderate changes in interest rates ahead.
Unpopular measures needed for Cyprus euro adoption
Cyprus Central Bank Governor Christodoulos Christodoulou said Tuesday the government must take "unpopular" measures to reign in public spending to achieve its target of adopting the euro in 2007.
Olson on the competitive edge of community banks
In the speech 'The competitive edge of community banks' given on 6 May Mark Olson of the Federal Reserve said the wave of consolidation in the U.S. banking industry hasn't led to the extinction of smaller banks.