Monetary Policy
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Aug 2003
Activity in the region's manufacturing sector improved in August, according to firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey, August 2003 . Most indicators increased, but the employment index declined.
E-barter V fiat money: will central banks survive?
Bank of England Working Paper by F H Capie, Dimitrios P Tsomocos and Geoffrey E Wood titled "E-barter versus fiat money: will central banks survive?". In the paper the authors argue that the information-economising properties that allowed money to…
HKMA's Yam at the HKIMR Summer Workshop 2003
In his Opening Remarks to the HKIMR Summer Workshop 2003 given on 27 August Joseph Yam of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said the organisers have put together an interesting programme with three papers dealing with issues that are of current or…
Poland appoints Czekaj to Monetary Policy Council
Poland's Deputy Finance Minister Jan Czekaj was voted onto the National Bank of Poland's Monetary Policy Council on Tuesday. Czekaj, a taxation guru at the ministry, was reported as saying after the Tuesday vote that he would likely take part in the…
Tension growing over Israel central bank policy
The Bank of Israel cut interest rates this week to 6.5 percent but Benjamin Netanyahu, the finance minister, has called Israel's high interest rate policy a "cement shoe" preventing growth. He proposed appointing an advisory panel composed of banking…
Viktor Gerashchenko nominated to the Russian Duma
Former chairman of the central bank of Russia Viktor Gerashchenko has been nominated to the Duma from the pro-communist "patriotic" bloc. On August 25, he officially announced that he'd join the patriotic coalition of Duma deputies Sergei Glaziev and…
Global central bankers to meet at weekend
Alan Greenspan will start the "Monetary Policy and Uncertainty" meeting of top central bankers on Friday with a keynote speech. The Jackson Hole, Wyoming gathering will bring together an audience of about 100 presidents or senior officials from the 12…
CBR to limit ruble strength
The Central Bank of Russia will move to limit the ruble's strength next year to help local producers compete with imports, despite IMF calls for a more flexible exchange rate policy reports the Moscow Times.
Peru inflation on target - new governor
The new governor of Peru's central bank, Javier Silva Ruete, expects inflation of 1.5 to 1.7% for the year, comfortably below the government's target of 2.5%, reports Reuters
Speech by BOJ dep gov Toshiro Muto
Toshiro Muto, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan, asks "What Have We Learned from "Unconventional" Market Operations?" and assures that the BOJ will "continue to exert every effort to enhance the transmission mechanism of monetary policy, while…
Court rulings off-tangent, says Philippines cb
The Philippines central bank has attacked court rulings against it as being "off-tangent" and has urged it to reconsider its decision to suspend senior members, including the governor reports the Manila Times.
Fukui: report on currency and monetary control
Statement by Toshihiko Fukui, Governor of the Bank of Japan, concerning the Bank's Semiannual Report on Currency and Monetary Control before the Committee on Financial Affairs, House of Councillors, on July 24, 2003
Duisenberg to skip September rate-setting meeting
Wim Duisenberg, European Central Bank president, will be on a panel of former central bankers on September 4th instead of chairing the rate setting meeting at the ECB, reports Bloomberg.
Rates slashed in Brazil
The Central Bank of Brazil reduced its main lending rate to 22%. The cut of two and a half percentage points was the largest in more than four years, reports the Financial Times.
Croatian National Bank Annual Report for 2002
The central bank of Croatia, the Croatian National bank met its goal of price stability with inflation at 2.2% for 2002. This was down on 2001 and in line with European economies, its annual report for 2002 proclaims. Last year also saw the introduction…
Central Bank of China Annual Report 2002
Taiwan experienced a modest recovery in 2002 with GDP growth of 3.54% against a contraction of 2.18% in 2001, according to the central bank's annual report.Foreign excahnge reserves grew by US$39.4 billion to US$161.7 billion over the same period.
Thai central bank upbeat on economy
The economy's future is bright in Thailand, according to the central bank. Governor Pridiyathorn Devakula says he still expects GDP to increase by 5.5% in line with his forecast, reports Stuff.co.nz of New Zealand.
Fiji: Pacific currency union out of the question
Fiji has rejected out of hand the idea of partaking in a Pacific currency union, according to the National Business Review. The prime minister said the idea was totally out of tune, far-fetched and unworkable. Australia's PM commented, "I think we should…
The Bank of Canada Review - Summer 2003 issue
The Review includes articles on financial developments in Canada, measuring interest rate expectations and dollarization in Canada.
Egyptian cb reorganised
The Egyptian government has slimmed down the decision-making body of the Central Bank of Egypt, appointing a new seven-member committee to set short-term monetary policy and supervise the banking sector. This structure replaces the previous board of 11…
Broaddus: Fed can maintain low rates
The Fed can maintain an accommodative monetary policy until the US output gap narrows, said Alfred Broaddus, president of the Richmond Fed in a television interview on Wednesday, according to a report by Reuters.
UK MPC unanimous on August rate hold
All nine members of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee voted to leave interest rates on hold at 3.5%earlier this month, minutes of their meeting showed on Wednesday, reports the Financial Times. The quarter point cut in July had been…
Fuss over Mboweni's pay rise
Tito Mboweni, governor of the South African Reserve Bank, has been criticised for the fact that his pay rise of 9% this year turned out to be higher than the inflation target, reports the Mail & Guardian. He does not set his own salary however, the bank…
IMF Survey on global economic outlook
The latest IMF survey has been issued, which states that following its Article IV consultation with the US it concluded that "a durable economic upswing was not a foregone conclusion", raising concerns about fiscal sustainability.