Monetary Policy
Calls for RBA board to be 'rejigged'
A National Party Senator has called for the Reserve Bank of Australia's board to be "rejigged" following the RBA's recent rate rise, ABC News reports. He called for the make-up of the Reserve Bank board to be broadened with more rural representation than…
Greenspan-Capitalism and the role of globalization
In a speech on 'Capitalism and the role of globalization' given on 11 December, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said debates on the pros and cons of market capitalism have waged for generations. The collapse of the Soviet empire, and with it…
Oct. minutes of Federal Open Market Committee
The Federal Reserve on 11 December released the minutes of its FOMC meeting of 28 October. Federal Reserve policy-makers expressed concerns at their October meeting that the battered job market might not fully recover until at least 2005 even if the…
Letter to Mervyn King from the UK Chancellor
Letter sent to the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, on the remit for the Monetary Policy Committee and the new inflation target, 10 December. There is also an annex on the new inflation target and the monetary policy framework.
Currency peg puts heat on China's economy: Fed
Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said on Thursday 11 December that China's currency peg with the US dollar may need to end if it is to prevent its economy from overheating. In a speech to the World Affairs Council of Dallas, reported by Bloomberg,…
Switzerland's monetary policy unchanged
The Swiss National Bank has left interest rates unchanged as it aims to keep the strong Swiss franc in check. The bank said in a statement reported by AFP that the signs of an economic recovery in Switzerland were growing.
Yuan undervalued by 30 pct or more: Japan's Kuroda
China could face a serious asset price bubble or inflation if it does not increase the value of the yuan. Former top Japanese policymaker Haruhiko Kuroda told an IMF seminar, according to a Reuters report: "If the current exchange rate regime is…
Fed minutes suggest low rates until 2005
The Federal Reserve's latest FOMC minutes released on Thursday 11 December, reinforced their regular statement that interest rates could remain low for a "considerable period" saying that they should not raise interest rates until they saw concrete signs…
ECB Monthly Bulletin, December 2003
The European Central Bank published its December 2003 Monthly Bulletin on 11 December. The ECB maintained its forecast for 2003 inflation at 2.1pc, but lowered its forecast for 2005 inflation to 1.6pc from 1.7pc. But it repeated that official interest…
ECB's Solans on importance of MFI interest rates
In a speechon 'The importance of MFI interest rates for the Eurosystem and the general public' given on 10 December, Eugenio Domingo Solans of the ECB said the aim of the new set of MFI interest rate statistics is to provide a comprehensive, detailed and…
SARB MPC cuts repo rate by 50 points to 8%
The South African Reserve Bank has cut interest rates to 8 per cent, reports Business day. This brought the total amount of rate cuts to 550 basis points since the first cut this year was announced on June 12.
IMF sees US growth sprinting ahead of eurozone
IMF chief economists Raghuram Rajan has told a German newspaper that the International Monetary Fund had increased its previous forecast for US growth by 0.1 percentage points to 4.0 percent, according to an AFP report.
CBC vows to maintain its independence
Central Bank of China governor Perng Fai-nan has pledged never to implement any measures violating the regulations of the Central Bank of China Law, according to a report by the China Post. Perng made the pledge when he was questioned about the CBC's…
Identity of Kenyan money is puzzling
Lack of standard currency design and frequent changes make it easy to fake Kenya's notes and coins, says this article in the Daily Nation, and the recent launch of new currency denominations by President Kibaki further complicates the real identity of…
Bank of England Financial Stability Review, Dec 03
The Bank of England published its latest Financial Stability Review for December 2003 on Thursday 11 December. It contains the Bank's regular half-yearly review of risks to financial stability and measures taken to strengthen the financial infrastructure…
Growth down inflation up, predicts ECB
The European Central Bank's December monthly report released on Thursday 11 December increased its inflation forecasts for 2004 to a range of between 1.3 - 2.3 per cent for the euro area, reports EUpolitix, a figure revised significantly upwards from the…
Federal Reserve leaves rates unchanged
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Tuesday. In a statement it retained the phrase "considerable period" in reference to its accommodative monetary policy. The FOMC also said the threat of deflation was receding.
RBA's Macfarlane on inflation targeting
In his Opening Statement to House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Finance and Public Administration given on 8 December I.J. Macfarlane of the Reserve Bank of Australia said he wanted to assure the Committee that the bank remains…
Philadelphia Fed Business Review, 4th Quarter 2003
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has published its regular Business Review for the Fourth Quarter 2003. In the latest issue President Santomero outlines what the Federal Reserve is doing to promote economic education and explains why knowledge is…
ECB no comment on FX intervention rumours
Market rumours that the ECB intervened in the foreign exchange markets were met with a 'no comment' answer on Wednesday 10 December, according to Reuters.
Rate hikes could deflate bubbles - Sweden's Nyberg
Deputy governor of the Sveriges Riksbank Lars Nyberg said on Wednesday 10 December that central banks could use interest rates to prick asset price bubbles. In a speech at an event arranged by the Bank of Indonesia in Jakarta he said that in his view…
Italy withdraws proposal on ECB statutes
EU Presidency holder Italy is reported to have withdrawn a proposal to simplify procedures for changing the ECB's statutes in response to protests from the central bank, according to Boersen-Zeitung. Jean-Claude Trichet wrote to Italian Foreign Minister…
ECB's Issing: Rate impact from deficits action
European Central Bank Chief economist Otmar Issing has said in a newspaper article that the decision to effectively suspend the stability and growth pact carries serious risks for the eurozone, according to Reuters.
Israel central bank head sees economic progress
Bank of Israel Governor David Klein said that the recovery in the global economy, and improvements in the political and security environment should help Israel emerge from a three-year-long recession, according to a Reuters report.