Monetary Policy
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.
ECB's Solans on global economic statistics
Eugenio Domingo Solans, of the ECB's Executive Board, talks on the importance of reliable and harmonised statistics, without which European Monetary Union would not have been possible, he says. However the "ultimate goal" is to reach a similar degree of…
Bank of England Minutes 6 & 7 August
Bank of England Minutes for meetings of 6 & 7 August in which the MPC voted unanimously to leave rates on hold.
European inflation dips below ECB's target
Inflation in the eurozone dipped below 2% for July, according to Eurostat. The figure of 1.9% was down from 2% in June, helped by a 0.2% drop in prices - the largest monthly fall in two years, reports the Financial Times.
Swedish cabinet split over euro decision
The Swedish government, already split over whether to join the euro, was headed for crisis on Tuesday amid reports of an imminent cabinet reshuffle, reports Eubuisiness.com. The national referendum on whether to join the single currency is to be held on…
RBA asset bubbles conference
The Reserve Bank of Australia 2003 conference, 'Asset Prices and Monetary Policy', was held at the H.C. Coombs Centre for Financial Studies, in Sydney on 18 and 19 August 2003. The conference focused on the implications of asset price booms for the…
US inflation measures compared
Keeping a close eye on changes in consumer prices is a key aspect of central banks' task to keep inflation low and stable. But measuring the changes and agreeing on the measure is not straightforward. A recent Economic Letter from the San Francisco Fed…
Political support needed for Africa currency union
Africa's central bank governors gathered together to discuss the possibility of forming a regional currency union, but concluded that however desirable and technically feasible it may be, it cannot be done without the support of politicians, reported the…
Balcerowicz urges fiscal reform in Poland
Polish central bank governor Leszek Balcerowicz has urged the government to undertake serious fiscal reform measures, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. If Poland is to avoid repeating Argentina's mistakes, there is a simple choice: "Either tolerance…
Buenaventura wins president's support to appeal
Philippine central bank chief Rafael Buenaventura has won the support of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo following a court ruling to suspend him for a year, according to Agence France-Presse. Although Buenaventura should be able to appeal, she does not…
Serbian National Bank loan to boost govt budget
Bozidar Djelic, Serbian finance minister, today announced in an interview with the Belgrade financial daily Pregled that the government will take out a loan with the Serbian National Bank in September to boost the budget reports B92. The announcements…