Central Banks
Greenspan on the outlook for the US economy
In a speech to the Securities Industry Association annual meeting on 6 November Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said soaring government budget deficits threaten the US economy in the long term and must be brought under control. But striking an…
Fed's Bernanke on the jobless recovery
In the speech 'The Jobless Recovery' given on 6 November Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve noted "a few encouraging signs" have appeared that a lengthy jobs slump was easing. "So far these signals of recovery remain tentative; on the basis of the…
The Canadian Phillips curve and regime shifting
This Bank of Canada Working Paper looks at the recent criticism of linear models of inflation for their poor forecasting performance, given that Phillips curves are usually estimated with linearity assumptions. Using two methodologies the Paper strongly…
Central Bank of Russia - Annual Report 2002
The Central Bank of Russia has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2002. Economic developments in Russia in 2002 were seriously affected by changes in the world economy, the Annual Report says. A quite favourable price situation on world…
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Nov/Dec 2003
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for November-December 2003 includes an article by St Louis Fed President William Poole "Fed Transparency: How, Not Whether", "Burgernomics: A Big Mac Guide to Purchasing Power Parity", and "Banking…
ECB press conference with questions and answers
At his first press conference since taking over from Wim Duisenberg, Jean-Claude Trichet said on 6 November that the stability and growth pact provided "an appropriate framework" for ensuring fiscal discipline. He said the budget deficit limit of 3 per…
Trichet warns EU over budget deficits
Jean-Claude Trichet issued a stern warning on 6 November to both eurozone governments and the EU Commission in Brussels that meddling with the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact would put the overall credibility of monetary union and economic…
Fed chief Greenspan hints end near for low rates
Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan suggested on 6 November that the end may be in sight for very low interest rates. Greenspan gave an optimistic assessment of the US economy's prospects for strong growth and appeared to depart from the FOMC's commitment to…
Interest rates can stay low says Fed governor
Federal Reserve governor Ben Bernanke said on 6 November there was "considerable scope" for US interest rates to remain at the current low rates without risking inflation. Bernanke told a conference sponsored by Carnegie Mellon University that he…
Chile c bank hints at further interest rate drop
Chile's central bank said Thursday it did not rule out further cuts to its historically low interest rates in an effort to further encourage the economic recovery. Despite low interest rates, inflation has remained under control and even fallen more than…
Crisis at Bangladesh Bank may be resolved
The recent problems at Bangladesh Bank may be resolved soon after reports that central leaders of the ruling Bangladesh National Party (BNP) are in favour of withdrawing the action taken against the BB officers and employees. The New Nation reported the…
KPMG selected as National Bank of Bulgaria auditor
KPMG was chosen on 7 November to audit the National Bank of Bulgaria's accounts a report said. Other candidates for the job were Ernst & Young and Deloitte & Touche, Novinite reported.
Santomero on beliefs in economics, monetary policy
In the speech 'Great Expectations: Beliefs in Economics and Monetary Policy' given on 5 November Anthony Santomero of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said he believed the FOMC should seriously consider inflation targeting so as to consolidate…
RBNZ's Bollard speaks on ANZ acquisition
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand released an excerpt from a speech by Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard on 6 November. It outlines the policy initiatives taken by the Reserve Bank in dealing with the application by the ANZ to buy National Bank. The…
Statement by RBA's MacFarlane on rate increase
In a statement following the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to increase interest rates to 5 per cent on 5 November, RBA governor Ian MacFarlane said "the Board's view is that it is no longer prudent to continue with such an expansionary policy…
Bank of England raises interest rates by 0.25%
The Bank of England raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to 3.75% on 6 November saying the global economic recovery appears to be gathering momentum but with inflationary pressures likely to build a "modest" increase was required.
Destructive Ambiguity
The Hong Kong dollar was pegged twenty years ago in October 1983. HKMA Chief Joseph Yam said he was going to "hit them where it hurts", earning himself a short-term action-man nickname of "Yambo". This article from webb-site.com takes aim at what it…
Bank Negara hosts BIS meeting on monetary policy
Bank Negara Malaysia will host the sixth meeting of the Bank for International Settlements monetary policy working party beginning 5 November, the Edge Daily reported. Bank Negara said the meeting was being chaired by BIS economic adviser William White,…
Trichet rings in new era at ECB with rates on hold
The ECB left its main refinancing rate steady at 2 percent at its 6 November meeting with Jean-Claude Trichet attending his first meeting as president of the euro-zone central bank, AFP reported.
Fed's Pianalto says US jobs lag unusual
Speaking Wednesday 5 November Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland president Sandra Pianalto said normally it would be expected to take only around two years for the US to recover the number of jobs lost in recession, Reuters reported.
ECB: No forced redundancies with IT restructuring
The ECB has responded to claims by the Union of the Staff of the European Central Bank that 40 or more staff could be made redundant by restructuring measures in the IT department. The Bank said in a statement, AFX reported, "If some functions are…
Sacked union leaders return to BB premises
Union leaders returned to Bangladesh Bank for the first time in a week on Wednesday 5 November. Witnesses said the ruling BNP-backed former CBA leaders stayed at the CBA office at the main building of the bank for 15 minutes at midday, the Daily Star…
Fukui-Further enhancing Japan's financial services
In the speech 'Toward the Further Enhancement of Financial Services in Japan' given on 4 November Toshihiko Fukui of the Bank of Japan concluded by saying that, as Japan's efforts to enhance financial services bear fruit, I am confident that there will…
Norges Bank Inflation Report, October 2003
Norway's central bank, Norges Bank, has published its latest Inflation Report for October 2003. The report contains a review of developments in the Norwegian economy and other factors that influence the inflation outlook.