Monetary Policy
Snow says Fed is wise to hold off rate rise
Alan Greenspan and his Federal Reserve colleagues have been "extraordinarily disciplined" and have not overreacted to signs of increased economic growth by raising interest rates, US Treasury Secretary John Snow has said.
Cleveland Fed's Pianalto on interest rates
In a speech on 'A National Voice, A Regional View' given on 5 March, Sandra Pianalto of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland said she can't say when interest rates are going to rise but added, "I know that this is a difficult time we are facing," and…
Riksbank's Persson on women, growth and welfare
In aspeech on 'Women, growth and welfare - an equation that must add up' given on 8 March, Kristina Persson of the Sveriges Riksbank said there is most probably some potential to increase productivity in the services sector but it is not sufficient just…
CBCDG reports progress on banknote security
The Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence Group (CBCDG) has now developed the Counterfeit Deterrence System and discussed the progress in this area at the G10 meeting in Basel, 9 March.
Belgium calls for fair play over ECB job
Belgian finance minister Didier Reynders has said competence should be the "only criteria" for picking a replacement for Spain's Eugene Domingo Solans, who leaves the ECB's executive board at the end of May.
Meirelles says Brazil can stand Argentine default
President Henrique Meirelles of the Banco Do Brasil has said his county's economy can weather a possible default by the Argentine government on its $3.1 billion debt to the IMF, Brazilian newspaper Estado de S. Paulo reported.
US's Snow criticises currencies 'on life support'
U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow implicitly criticised Japan's continued currency market intervention on Monday 8 March after giving a speech.
Argentina on brink of new IMF default
Argentina was on the brink of a new debt default with the IMF on Tuesday 9 March as last-minute discussions went to the wire while the Argentine government studied an IMF proposal.
Germany changes position on governing council post
It was reported on Tuesday 9 March that the German government had changed its position that large countries should automatically retain seats on the ECB's executive board.
EU need 'unchallengeable' choice for IMF, says Mer
Francis Mer has said that the EU should agree on an "unchallengeable" contender as Horst Koehler's replacement at the IMF, to avoid a repeat of the squabbling over its previous nomination.
Interview: Heraldo Muoz
Since September 11th the tracking of global terrorist funding has been more important than ever. CBNet spoke to Heraldo Muoz, Chilean ambassador to the UN and chairman of the Security Council Al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee to ask exactly how UN…
Paris seminar on the EU accession process
The fifth central bank seminar on the European Union (EU) accession process was held in Paris on 4 and 5 March 2004. The purpose of this seminar was to exchange views on important central banking issues ahead of EU accession.
New law governing the Central Bank of Iraq
Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority, announced on Sunday 7 March the issuance of a new law governing the Central Bank of Iraq.
BIS Quarterly Review March 2004
The BIS September 2003 quarterly review, released 8 March, said global equity markets rallied in early 2004 due to investors strong risk appetite, not just economic and corporate fundamentals.
Welteke 'relaxed' on asset bubbles
Ernst Welteke, president of the Bundesbank, said on Sunday 7 March that he was "relaxed" on the issue of asset bubbles, a growing concern among central bankers in the wake of strong equity market gains over the last year.
Ireland, Belgium likely to lose bid for ECB seat
Ireland and Belgium look set to lose their battle to win a seat on the six person executive board of the European Central Bank (ECB). Eurozone finance ministers were due to discuss the position on Monday evening, 8 March, with Spain's Jose Manuel…
PBOC says no plan to revalue yuan soon
Deputy governor Li Ruogu of the People's Bank of China said on Sunday 7 March that China does not plan to revalue the yuan in the near future and that the dollar pegged currency is valued correctly.
Jarai says delay ERM II if euro entry delayed
National Bank of Hungary president Zsigmond Jarai said on Friday 5 March, according to state news agency MTI, that if Hungary delays adoption of the euro, it should also delay joining the Exchange Rate Mechanism II.
Global recovery strong and long lasting says G10
G10 central bankers meeting in Switzerland said on Monday 8 March that the world economic recovery is strong and risks that it could be scuppered are fading.
IMF statement on Kohler's resignation
Following Horst Kohler's decision to resign from the IMF, the Fund released this statement on Thursday 5 March. First Deputy Managing Director Anne Krueger will be Acting Managing Director until the IMF's Executive Board names a successor.
Serbia's Jelasic moves into office
The new governor of the National Bank of Serbia, Radovan Jelasic, officially took control of the bank on Monday 1 March.
Kazakhstan appoints new deputy
According to a decree from President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Askar Yelemesov was appointed deputy president of the National Bank of Khasakhstan on Wednesday 3 March.
ECB board member confirmation hearing in April
The European Parliament said on Wednesday 3 March that it will hold a confirmation hearing with the nominee for the ECB's soon to be vacant seat. It spoke of a broadening of backgrounds which "would come from board members with an academic or…
Paul Sweezy dies at 93
Paul M Sweezy, a Harvard University economist who did much work on the theory of oligopoly, and left academia to become America's leading Marxist intellectual and publisher during the cold war era, died on Saturday 28 February at his New York home.