Monetary Policy
Israel tops for central bankers per head
The Economist magazine reports that the Bank of Israel employs 14 people for each 100,000 Israelis, almost twice as much as in the US.
Fed's Greenspan on capitalizing reputation
In a speech on 'Capitalizing reputation' given on 16 April, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said companies need to work hard to restore trust in the nation's financial markets and predicted that trust can be restored, but he warned of serious…
Vyugin criticises Russia's rouble policy
The Russian central bank's "protectionist" rouble policy is causing the stock market to overheat and is threatening to create an asset bubble, Russia's top financial regulator said on Thursday 15 April.
CBN's Sanusi launches 'Project Eagles'
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Chief Joseph Sanusi, on Thursday 15 April launched the re-engineering and restructuring of the central bank, known as "Project Eagles" with a view to making the CBN one of the world's most efficient and…
ECB publish latest additions to Blue Books
The European Central Bank (ECB) on Friday 16 April published the latest additions to two of its Blue Books, ahead of the 1 May EU enlargement.
Welteke resigns from Bundesbank
Bundesbank president Ernst Welteke resigned Friday after coming under heavy criticism for taking a free hotel stay from a commercial bank. He said in a statement "the disregard for the legally guaranteed independence of the Bundesbank and its…
Stark to succeed Welteke?
Ernst Welteke, head of the Bundesbank, resigned on Friday. The Bundesbank and German Ministry of Finance called his decision "appropriate". Many observers of the affair think that his successor will be Koch-Weser, the ministry of finance official…
Bundesbank appoints corporate governance officer
On 14 April the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank appointed Professor Theodor Baums of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt as Corporate Governance Compliance Officer of the Deutsche Bundesbank.
Sweden's Persson on globalisation
In a speech on 'Globalisation, structural changes and monetary policy' given on 14 April, Kristina Persson of the Sveriges Riksbank said experiences show that it is generally the countries that have accepted globalisation and been quick to adapt both…
RBA's Stevens on regional financial arrangements
In a speech on 'Regional Financial Arrangements: Recent Developments' given on 15 April, Glenn Stevens of the RBA said a key reason for wanting well-developed capital markets is that having a diversity of funding sources for governments, businesses and…
EMEAP central banks announce structure of ABF2
The EMEAP (Executives' Meeting of East Asia and Pacific Central Banks) Group announced the initial structure of the Asian Bond Fund 2 on 15 April.
Brazil cuts rates to 16 per cent
Brazil's central bank cut its benchmark lending rate to a three-year low on Wednesday 14 april to 16 per cent.
Flexible yuan may not ease overheating- IMF
The International Monetary Fund's chief economist Raghuram Rajan said on Wednesday 14 April that it was unclear if any loosening of the Chinese yuan's peg to the dollar would prevent overheating of the Chinese economy.
Too early to judge inflation trend- SF Fed's Parry
Outgoing San Francisco Federal Reserve President Robert Parry said on Wednesday 14 April that the Fed will have to raise interest rates "at some point" to head off inflation, but rising prices are not a concern yet.
Japan sees continued economic recovery
Japan's government will not upgrade its assessment of the economy in a monthly report to be released on Friday 16 April, but will say a recovery in business conditions is broadening, according to a draft seen by Reuters.
Balcerowicz says Polish euro entry may be delayed
Poland's national bank President Leszek Balcerowicz said the country may not be ready to adopt the euro by 2007 because the government has failed to cut spending.
Macfarlane on the world economy and Australia
In a speech on 'The World Economy and its Implications for Australia' given on 14 April, Ian Macfarlane of the RBA said we are still waiting for the durability of the world economic recovery to be sufficiently recognised so that the major central banks…
Fukui's statement to House of Representatives
In a statement before the Committee on Financial Affairs given on 23 March (published 14 April) Toshihiko Fukui of the Bank of Japan said in contrast to a year ago, positive signs are steadily increasing in Japan's economy.
US Treasury's Taylor on monetary policy modeling
In the speech 'Monetary Policy Modeling: Where Are We?' given on 12 April, John Taylor US Treasury Under Secretary said the success of quantitative modeling in the field of monetary policy is clear, and this is due in large part to the "translational…
Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
The Bank of Japan released the minutes from its 26 February and 15, 16 March Monetary Policy Meetings on Wednesday 14 April. Minutes from the March meeting showed members felt that the downtrend in prices was slowing and expectation of price declines was…
SF Fed's Parry sees US rates 'maybe' at 3.5%
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Robert Parry said in an interview that U.S. interest rates cannot remain at their 1958 lows forever and will have to rise at some point, perhaps to 3.5 per cent.
Fed Reserve Bank of Chicago - Annual Report 2003
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. The main article explores the issues that confront the payments industry as it adopts new payment standards and discusses the appropriate policy role for the…
Fed's McTeer unconcerned over US inflation
There are no concerns about inflation emerging even as the U.S. economy is growing "on all cylinders," said Robert McTeer, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Eichengreen urges controlled yuan float
Barry Eichengreen, a senior policy adviser to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during the Asian financial crisis has said that China should immediately stop pegging the yuan to the US dollar and instead move to a controlled float of its currency.