Monetary Policy
RBA's Edey on economic issues in 2004
In the speech 'Economic Issues in 2004' given on 3 March Malcolm Edey of the Reserve Bank of Australia said the Australian economy has generally grown at a pretty good pace over the last few years, despite an unfavourable international climate for much…
China rejects Greenspan's forex warning
China dismissed warnings by Fed chief Alan Greenspan that it faces serious economic consequences if it continues to mount up massive US dollar holdings as it defends the dollar pegged yuan system.
Norway says no plan to resume forex buying
Norway's central bank reaffirmed on Wednesday it had no plans to resume purchases of foreign exchange for the country's USD 121 billion oil fund.
Japan says Greenspan remarks not criticism
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Wednesday he does not see the warning by US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan against Japan's currency interventions as criticism of Japan's policies.
US Mint ships in new nickels
180 million new US nickels are currently being shipped to the Federal Reserve and will sport their first new look for 66 years as part of the Mint's new Westward Journey Nickel Series.
G20: Imbalances pose risk to world recovery
Finance officials from the G20 group of developed and big emerging market economies agreed on Wednesday that global imbalances were a risk to the improving world economy.
Asian reaction to Greenspan
Journalists of Agence France Presse have been surveying reactions in Asia to Greeenspan's warnings about the inflationary implications of heavy intervention.
Czech NB's Tma on forecasting
In a speech 'Forecasting at central banks' given on 20 February, Zdenik Tma of the Czech National Bank said the first years of the new regime were not easy, and included frequent numerical target misses. Nevertheless, the Czech Republic enjoys low…
IMF MD Horst Kohler's remarks on visit to Brazil
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Horst Kohler made the following statement on Monday I march in Sao Paulo at the conclusion of his visit to Brazil.
Caruana on the Basel II capital accord
In a speech to the Institute of International Bankers conference in Washington given on 1 March, Jaime Caruana of the Banco de Espaa said the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is on course to finish its work on the Basel II capital accord by mid…
Bank of Canada cuts rates by quarter point
The Bank of Canada announced on Tuesday 2 March that it is lowering its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 2 1/4 per cent.
Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
Two members of the Bank of Japan's Policy Board voted against the decision to ease policy at its January 19-20 meeting, the minutes showed. The two members said economic conditions made the move unnecessary and that it could cause misunderstanding in the…
Bank of England told to release BCCI case files
The Bank of England lost an appeal on Monday 1 March to keep sensitive internal documents under wraps in a lawsuit seeking almost £1 billion ($2.7 billion) over its role in the world's biggest banking fraud.
Greenspan says yuan float now would pose risks
A letter from Alan Greenspan to the US Senate has said that a free-floating yuan could threaten the world economy and destabilise the Chinese banking system if capital controls are removed.
Has the ECB failed to meet its objectives?
Just over five years after its establishment the ECB has failed to meet its stated objective of maintaining price stability, according to an outspoken report published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)today.
RBA's Edey on the international economy
In a speech on 'The International Economy' given on 27 February, Malcolm Edey of the Reserve Bank of Australia said the world economy does seem to be recovering after three years of underperformance in the early part of this decade but the outlook is…
Padoa-Schioppa on building on the euro's success
In a speech on 'Building on the euro's success' given on 26 February, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa of the ECB said the rampant euro proved the eurozone was doing its bit to ease global imbalances and scalded Asia for fixed currency regimes. By operating a peg…
Greenspan on intellectual property rights
In a speech on 'Intellectual property rights' given on 27 February, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve discussed the necessity of protecting property rights in general and cited the American "Wild West" and former Soviet Union as two cases in which a…
Putin pledges full convertibility for rouble
President Vladimir Putin refused to predict further changes in the dollar rate, at a meeting with university students on Friday 27 February, but he did promise to make all efforts to strengthen the rouble.
Bahrain strengthens anti money-laundering laws
Bahrain is developing anti-money laundering (AML) laws for the insurance sector and capital market players as part of a drive to tighten up on the industry and remove any threat that could jeopardize monetary and banking policies, a central bank official…
China's Premier suggests end to yuan's dollar peg
China's Premier Wen Jiabao has said that the country is working toward a more flexible exchange rate mechanism for the value of the yuan, the first clear statement that the government aims to end the currency's nine-year fixed link to the dollar.
IMF's Koehler confident on Brazil's growth
IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler said on Sunday 29 February that he had a "good feeling about Brazil", expressing confidence in the country's growth prospects for this year.
Reynders says ECB may have room for manoeuvre
Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders has said that it is up to the European Central Bank to stimulate Europe's sluggish economic recovery, because widening budget deficits prevent governments from boosting spending.
The bad news - Greenspan must go!
Chairman Greenspan's busy week of testimony and speeches didn't go without its critics. Republican Senator Bernie Sanders sent a letter to President "Dubya" asking for Greenspan's removal.