Monetary Policy
Financial literacy programs making grade?
US - If financial literacy programs are to succeed, more research is needed on their success rate, Federal Reserve Governor Edward M. Gramlich said Thursday.
Prodi calls for 'one sole political voice' on euro
BELGIUM - European Commission president Romano Prodi said he is "convinced" that there should be moves to ensure one sole political voice speaks on behalf of the euro.
None so deaf - A central banker hit below the belt
FEATURE - When the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, is stuck in an awkward political corner she has taken to using a cheap rhetorical trick. She has borrowed it from Rob Muldoon. Unable to find anything substantive to say, she resorts to…
There are no risk-free returns says RBI's Jalan
INDIA - It's never easy being the governor of a central bank, but for Bimal Jalan, the 61-year-old governor of RBI, the challenges just keep multiplying, reports The Times of India on Friday.
Speech by J.C. Trichet of Banque de France, 23 Apr
SPEECH - Trichet said in a speech titled 'Asset Price Bubbles and their Implications for Monetary Policy and Financial Stability' that asset price developments are a serious cause of concern for central banks since they may impinge upon both price and…
Speech by Robert Parry, San Francisco Fed, 1 May
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'The Role of the Federal Reserve in the Economy' Parry attempts to answer some of the questions he says he often hears people ask, such as What's the Fed's role in the economy?, How does it function? and What can it do for…
ECB Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Monetary Policy Decisions, 2 May.
Federal Reserve Board - Proposals for Comment
REPORT - Draft Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information Disseminated by the Federal Reserve, 1 May.
South Africa Reserve Bank Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Governor appointed as Professor Extraordinary to the Department of Economics at Stellenbosch University.
Eurozone interest rates left unchanged
EUROPE - Interest rates in the 12-nation eurozone have been kept on hold as expected at a regular ECB meeting held Thursday.
St Louis Fed official on guard for inflation
US - St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole on Thursday warned that policymakers must be on guard and said low and stable inflation was key to keeping the current U.S. economic expansion strong and long-lasting.
Dollar slides after O'Neill testimony
US - Pessimism about the strength of the US recovery sent the dollar to its weakest level for six months against the euro and for two months against the yen on Thursday.
Flag protest
NETHERLANDS - The wife of the President of the European Central Bank hung a Palestinian flag from a second-floor balcony of their home here in protest against Israel's actions in the West Bank. Wim Duisenberg refused to comment on the stance taken by…
Leading credit ratings agencies under fire
JAPAN - Japan's Ministry of Finance has taken aim at the world's leading credit ratings agencies - Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch - in a strongly worded letter that accuses them of lacking objectivity and calls into question the reliability of…
ECB Press Conference
PRESS CONFERENCE - Introductory statement by Willem F. Duisenberg, President of the European Central Bank, Christian Noyer, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt am Main, 2 May.
Speech by M Moskow, President, Chicago Fed, 1 May
SPEECH - In a speech titled 'The Impact of Open Markets and Expanded Trade on Economic Development' Moskow said that whilst some were opposed to free trade he would continue to believe that openness is essential to long-term prosperity in both the…
Speech by David Dodge of Bank of Canada, 30 Apr
SPEECH - In a speech made Tuesday, Dodge, justifying the Canadian central bank's hiking interest rates before the U.S. Federal Reserve, said that the Canadian economy was closer to full capacity than that of the United States.
Bank of Japan Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Monetary Policy Meeting, 30 April.
Outlook and Risk Assessment, Economy and Prices
REPORT - Outlook and Risk Assessment of the Economy and Prices, April 2002 as determined by the Policy Board at the Monetary Policy Meeting held on 30 April 2002 by the Bank of Japan.
Central bank intervention and market expectations
RESEARCH - BIS Papers No. 10 by Gabriele Galati and Will Melick, April 2002.
Olson isn't saying what banks want to hear
FEATURE - Bankers' hopes were high in December when Mark W. Olson was sworn in as a member of the Federal Reserve Board but the American Banker reports, 1 May, that Mr Olson has provided the banking industry with nothing but tough love.
Frenkel accused of claiming funds not due him
ISRAEL - Israel's state audit office said on Monday former Bank of Israel Governor Jacob Frenkel, who stepped down in 2000 after nine years in office, had claimed thousands of dollars not due to him. A spokesman for Frenkel in Tel Aviv dismissed all the…
Brash walks into storm over interest rates
NEW ZEALAND - It did not take the New Zealand opposition's latest recruit - former New Zealand Reserve Bank governor Don Brash - long to learn that the rough and tumble of politics is a different world from the rarefied atmosphere of monetary policy…
Transcript of interview with Ernst Welteke
FEATURE - The FT spoke to Ernst Welteke, president of the Deutsche Bundesbank, on his visit to London on Monday 28 April. The interview was published on Wednesday and here we reproduce it in its entirety. He was sceptical about plans to publish the…