Monetary Policy
Bahrain urges Islamic banks to merge
BAHRAIN - Bahrain, the Gulf's financial centre, on 5 June urged Islamic banks to consolidate or increase their capital to help them compete with conventional banks on financing major projects.
New Thai bank governor plans radical changes
THAILAND - Pridiyathorn Devakula, the new governor of the Bank of Thailand, who formally took charge of the bank on 5 June, plans radical changes to monetary policy in Thailand.
Asia and the IMF
SPEECH - Stanley Fischer, First Deputy Managing Director at the International Monetary Fund spoke about Asia's relationship with the IMF at the Institute of Policy Studies, Singapore on 1 June.
Bank of England maintains interest rates at 5.25%
UK - The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has left UK interest rates unchanged. The committee met on 6 June and the decision to leave rates unchanged was widely expected by economists.
Blair may be serious about single currency entry
UK - British prime minister Tony Blair is being seen as serious about campaigning for British participation in the single currency, the euro, after the UK general election which will be held tomorrow, 7 June.
Top economists say UK should join euro
UK - Fifteen of the country's most eminent economists have urged the UK Government to join the euro in a letter to the Financial Times in London.
Communicating Canadian monetary policy
SPEECH - Paul Jenkins, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada has made a speech titled 'Communicating Canadian monetary policy: towards greater transparency'. He was speaking at the Ottawa Economics Association, Ottawa, on 22 May.
Malta Central Bank re-appoints governor
MALTA - Michael Bonello has been re-appointed as governor of the central bank of Malta. He was appointed by the President on the advice of the prime minister for a second two-year term until October 2003. The announcement was made on 5 June.
Police warn euro notes may make crime easier
EUROPE - The high value of euro banknotes may make financial crime easier by enabling criminals who transfer cash across borders to cram more money into briefcases, European police fear.
Speech by Paul O'Neill on the future of the IMF
SPEECH - Paul O'Neill, Secretary of the US Treasury, gave a speech on 22 May to the House Committee on Financial Services. In it he sets forth his vision of the IMF as a more focused and limited institution.
Duisenberg speech on central bank responsibilities
SPEECH - Wim Duisenberg, President of the European Central Bank, gave a speech at the Central Bankers' Panel at the International Monetary Conference, Singapore on 4 June. The speech was titled What exactly is the responsibility of central banks of large…
Bank of Latvia - Annual Report 2000
ANNUAL REPORT - The Bank of Latvia has published its Annual Report 2000. It says that results were better than projected and were above the average level in the region. This was partly a result of economic reform in Latvia and the bank's monetary policy.
Central Bank of Algeria's web site 'hacked into'
ALGERIA - The Central Bank of Algeria's web site has been hacked into by persons unknown.
Banks continue self-regulation
UK - Banks and building societies should continue with self-regulation of accounts, the UK Treasury has been told by a high-powered committee it appointed to review the system.
Bank of Canada appoints visiting special adviser
CANADA - The Bank of Canada has appointed John Chant to fill the visiting economist position of special adviser to the bank. Chant is a professor at Simon Fraser University in Canada. He will serve for a one-year term starting in September 2001.
Ed Kelley to resign from Federal Reserve Board
US - The Federal Reserve Board has released the following statement from Governor Edward W. Kelley, Jr., announcing his plans to resign from the Board after at least one of the current vacancies is filled.
Asian common currency idea given cautious welcome
SINGAPORE - Asia's economies will have to integrate further before they start thinking about creating their own monetary union, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said on 4 June.
IMF backs gold
US - A senior IMF official has made a statement about gold that in the view of experts is the first of any significance made since the Board's discussion of this subject in 1995.
International Monetary Conference speech
SPEECH - Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has given the luncheon address at the International Monetary Conference, Singapore on 4 June. It was titled Financial Centres Today and Tomorrow: A Singapore Perspective.
Bank of Japan research paper - zero interest rates
RESEARCH - The Bank of Japan has published a research paper 'Monetary Policy Under the Zero Interest Rate Constraint and Balance Sheet Adjustment'. The paper is written by Masaaki Shirakawa, advisor to the governor, Bank of Japan.
Stable Europe important to growth - Duisenberg
SINGAPORE - European Central Bank (ECB) President Wim Duisenberg told delegates at the International Monetary Conference in Singapore on 4 June that economic stability in the euro zone was the best contribution Europe could make to world growth.
New Thai bank head to make monetary policy changes
THAILAND - Incoming Thai central bank Governor Pridiyathorn Devakula said on 4 June that there are going to be changes in monetary policy.
Peru's new President will bring in bank chief
PERU - Alejandro Toledo, the son of a poor mountain sheep herder, won the presidency on 3 June over one-time President Alan Garcia after a campaign that left Peruvians deeply disillusioned. Aides to Garcia attempted to calm the markets by indicating that…
Malaysia's finance minister resigns
Malaysia - Malaysian Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin ended weeks of speculation about his future on 2 June, quitting his post despite Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's apparent efforts to retain him.