Monetary Policy
ECB ready to react to disturbances
The ECB reassured on Thursday that it was ready to react in the event of financial market disturbances after the start of military action against Iraq.
BoJ statement on the military action against Iraq
Statement made Thursday by the governor of the Bank of Japan at the onset of war hostilities.
Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report, February 2003
REPORT - The Bundesbank said in its February 2003 monthly report the recovery of the world economy slowed down noticeably in autumn 2002 even grinding to a halt in industrial countries. The report says this picture has changed little since the turn of…
Fukui taking charge
ARTICLE - This article looks at some of the pressures that will face the new governor of the Bank of Japan as he begins his term. As Toshihiko Fukui takes the BOJ helm, he faces an even more difficult economic situation than that confronted by Hayami,…
Israel's Treasury blasts central bank policy
A brochure published by Israel's Finance Ministry blames the central bank for much of the malaise dogging the country's economy. The brochure also described the Bank of Israel's monetary policy as "too restrictive".
Can Fukui pull isolated BOJ in from the cold?
ARTICLE - This article asks whether Fukui will tread his own monetary policy path in an effort to rid Japan of deflation and adopt unorthodox measures which Masaru Hayami steadfastly resisted.
ECB Press Release on the war in Iraq, 20 March
Statement of the ECB's Governing Council following the start of military action in Iraq, 20 March.
Federal Reserve hold rates steady amid uncertainty
Federal Reserve FOMC held rates steady at the meeting on Tuesday March 18. The Committee said in a press release that the hesitancy of economic expansion owes much to geopolitical uncertainties.
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee Minutes
MINUTES - Minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee Meeting were released on 19 March for the meeting of 5 and 6 March 2003. The minutes show that MPC members voted 8-1 in favour of maintaining interest rates at their current levels…
Bank of England Inflation Attitudes Survey, Feb 03
REPORT - The Bank of England's February 2003 quarterly Inflation Attitudes Survey was published on 17 March. The survey measures public attitudes to inflation in the UK. The survey showed that the number of people satisfied with how the Bank is doing its…
Dodge on the benefits of sound economic policies
SPEECH - In the speech on 'The Benefits of Sound Economic Policies' David Dodge of the Bank of Canada said while these are certainly challenging economic times, in Canada we remain convinced of the merits of the economic policy consensus of the OECD. He…
Dinkic : NBS will cooperate with new PM
In an interview with Serbian Studio B TV, the governor of the National Bank of Serbia Mladjan Dinkic said that the National Bank would cooperate with the newly elected prime minister Zoran Zivkovic, following the assassination last week of Zoran Djindjic…
Kazakh delegation attend Caspian summit in Turkey
The chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, Grigoriy Marchenko, will attend the Caspian summit on banks, finance and investment held Wednesday and Thursday this week in Turkey, according to Interfax.
BOJ may buy ETFs under new governor Fukui
Speaking on Tuesday March 18, Toshihiko Fukui, who will formally take up the job of governor of the Bank of Japan on Thursday March 20, suggested the Bank may take up new policies to expand the money supply and thereby fight deflation, according to a…
Interest rates unchanged as Fed awaits war
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Tuesday March 19 in a unanimous vote but left open the possibility of a cut if the economy suddenly worsened, according to a report by Associated Press.
Fed building part-closed after 'explosives' threat
Tuesday's FOMC meeting, March 19, did not go without a hitch CentralBankNet learns. A report from Reuters said that a man described as a "disgruntled tobacco farmer" claiming to be carrying explosives forced the closure of part of the Federal Reserve…
Interview with former governor - Iraq central bank
INTERVIEW - Salah al-Shaikhly was a Governor of the Iraqi Central Bank in the early 1970s. In an interview published by Reuters on Wednesday March 19, he told how Saddam Hussein's regime had ruined the Iraqi economy running up a debt of US$ 112bn. He…
MPC voted 8 to 1 to keep UK rates on hold
Minutes of the Bank of England's last meeting of its interest rate setting MPC showed that the Committee saw growth slightly below trend in the short term. The Committee also felt exchange rate depreciation was likely to put upward pressure on inflation…
ECB's Solans on economic policy
In the speech 'Economic policy: complementary and reinforcing dimensions' Eugenio Domingo Solans of the ECB said more focus should be placed on structural micro-economic reforms that can increase the production potential of the European economy. He…
Swedish central bank cuts rates again
The Sveriges Riksbank trimmed interest rates further on Tuesday March 18, blaming continued uncertainty and the threat of war, according to a Reuters report.
ECB's Solans: Inflation pressure not a major worry
After cutting interest rates recently to stimulate the sluggish eurozone economy, executive board member Eugenio Domingo Solans has said inflation is not a major concern at the moment and the ECB sees "very modest" growth this yea, according to a Dow…
US plans post war change to Iraq's central bank
The US Treasury is making plans for the running of Iraq's economy after a US led war on the Gulf state ends, according to The New York Times. The plans include the rebuilding of the Iraqi central bank and the establishment of a new currency.
Report says Gretta Duisenberg's son in drugs case
A report from Expatica in the Netherlands says that Gretta Duisenberg's son is accused of possessing and trading in drugs.
New BoJ chief signals more aggressive policy
In testimony on Tuesday March 18 the new governor of the Bank of Japan, Toshihiko Fukui, pledged to cushion Japanese economy from any war shocks and said the BoJ would consider broadening the range of assets it buys as part of its controversial scheme,…