Monetary Policy
MNB vice president Auth warns against wage index
Inflationary pressures could build up in the Hungarian economy if next year's wage rises are linked to planned tax changes, warned the vice president of the national bank of Hungary Henrik Auth in an interview with Reuters.
Fed can keep rates low as growth quickens - McTeer
In a speech to the Dallas Rotary Club, Reuters reports that Dallas Fed President Bob McTeer expressed optimism the economy would soon revive, even as he admitted a lack of "hard evidence" of a pickup.
Court summons Bank of Tanzania governor personally
The governor of the central bank of Tanzania, Daudi Balali, was due to appear in person at the High Court, Dar es Salaam on Friday 25 July, according to all Africa News. The civil case refers to an agreement signed on 25th April 1985 between the…
Polish Fin Min wants c bank help on foreign debt
Poland's finance ministry is seeking funds from the national bank at a preferential rate to use to repay part of Poland's foreign debt, so-called Brady bonds, according to Polish News Bulletin. Leszek Balcerowicz, president of the NBP, did not comment on…
EU needs a more 'intelligent' pact - Pascal Lamy
Speaking during a visit to China EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said the EU's Stability and Growth Pact needs to be "modernised and whipped into shape" and needs to be a more "intelligent" pact, according to EU Observer.
RBNZ reduces OCR to 5.0 per cent
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand knocked a quarter percent off its main OCR interest rate Thursday. Governor Alan Bollard said on balance a further reduction seems appropriate today, with evidence continuing to suggest slowing economic activity.
BoJ's Fujiwara - Inside a Monetary Policy Meeting
In a speech on 'Inside a Monetary Policy Meeting' Sakuya Fujiwara of the Bank of Japan said transparency of the Bank of Japan's conduct of monetary policy has been enhanced by Monetary Policy Meetings. I attach special importance to increasing the…
McTeer speech to the Risk Management Association
In a speech before the Risk Management Association Bob McTeer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said the main reasons for expecting a stronger recovery are the prolonged and massive monetary easing, fiscal policy's move toward expansion, lean…
Ferguson on Basel II: Scope of Application in US
In a speech on 'Basel II: Scope of Application in the United States' Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said we anticipate that U.S. banking organizations that account for 99 percent of the foreign assets and two-thirds of all assets of our domestic…
Interview with IMF Managing Director Horst Kohler
In an interview on "We Should Not Lose More Time" with Germany's manager magazin, IMF MD Horst Kohler talks about ways out of the world economy crisis. He is also asked if the Americans and the Japanese might be trying to solve their problems by…
Economy minister may take over at Peru c bank
Peru's president Alejandro Toledo may be planning further changes to his cabinet with Economy and Finance Minister Javier Silva touted as a replacement to Richard Webb at the central bank, Bloomberg reports.
ECB's Issing - No risk of inflation or deflation
Neither deflation nor inflation present risks for the eurozone economy at the moment. That was the assessment of Otmar Issing on Wednesday 23 July, according to Reuters, but if deflationary concerns emerge the ECB is ready to take various preventive…
Dinkic bids farewell
Speaking at a press conference to mark the end of his term as governor of the National Bank of Serbia Mladjan Dinkic urged the government and prime minister against interfering in monetary politics and commenting publicly on the state of the dinar,…
Governor of Bulgaria's central bank elected Sept
Latest estimates suggest Bulgaria will elect a new central bank governor in September, says Novinite. The farce which has dragged on for weeks looks set for completion then, Stanimir Ilchev, floor leader of the ruling Simeon II National Movement, said on…
Brazil c bank staff strike, trading system crashes
A strike on Wednesday 23 July saw workers stay away from the central bank of Brazil as employees protested at planned cuts to pension benefits, according to a Bloomberg report. In what was described as an unrelated event, the computer system for bond and…
Bernanke: Fed could cut rates to zero
In his speech to a University audience on Wednesday 23 July, Reuters reports that Ben Bernanke declared that the Federal Reserve was ready to keep short-term interest rates low indefinitely - even cutting them to zero - to jumpstart the economy and ward…
Malta central bank signs employees agreement
A collective agreement signed on Tuesday 22 July by the Central Bank of Malta provides for improved salaries, better conditions of work and various important changes, according to Malta Media. This is expected to lead to greater efficiency within the…
Rachel Lomax and a new era for the MPC
Rachel Lomax's first Monetary Policy Meeting at the Bank of England may have labelled her a hawk for good from day one at the office. An article published by Dow Jones suggests her reluctance to vote for a rate cut when growth is weak may signal distinct…
Bank of England MPC Minutes 9/10 July 2003
Minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee Meeting were released on 23 July for the meeting of 9 and 10 July 2003. The MPC acknowledged that it now seemed likely that UK growth in 2003 Q2 had been weaker than the Committee had assumed in…
MPC's Lomax was only dissenter in UK rates cut
The Bank of England's nine member Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 for a cut in interest rates at their July meeting, minutes showed on Wednesday 23 July. The Financial Times reported that Rachel Lomax, the new deputy governor, attending her first…
Ueda on Japan's deflation and policy response
In a speech on 'Japan's Deflation and Policy Response' Kazuo Ueda of the Bank of Japan said the deflation of general prices has not been the major problem in Japan. Instead, asset price deflation and its interaction with the financial system and the…
Greenspan proves fallible
An article in American Outlook Today, "Greenspan proves fallible", describes the pedestal upon which Alan Greenspan has been perched as "a bit shaky" saying he disappointed the expectations of the bond market with the FOMC's with only a quarter point…
Bundesbank: No hurry for candidates to adopt ERMII
The Bundesbank said in a report that no relaxation should be made of the Maastricht criteria for the new member states, noting that Hungary's budget deficit for 2002 was over 9% of GDP. The report, according to Interfax-Europe, said that most accession…
Snow says U.S. economic growth accelerating
US Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Tuesday 22 July that we are seeing good signs that the US economy is beginning to take off, Reuters reports. Snow said the pace of expansion should pick up substantially in the second half of this year and during…