Monetary Policy
British public see EMU membership as inevitable
According to a new poll reported by GrahamBishop.com, the British public sees EMU membership as inevitable by 2010 and the government is expected to take the lead on pushing for the benefits of EMU participation. The report also contends there has been a…
Indian industry cheers central bank's rate cuts
Indian industry cheered the central bank's decision on Feb 16, 2001 to lower interest rates, saying it would help ease the country's industrial slowdown. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it was cutting its benchmark bank rate to 7.5 percent from 8.0…
Norway downplays cbank critique of state ownership
Reaction in Norway's Labour government to central bank governor Svein Gjedrem's sharp criticism of state ownership in Norwegian companies has been muted so far. A spokeswoman for the Finance Ministry said Feb 16, 2001 there are no plans to issue an…
Colombian cbank leaves mon pol unchanged
Colombia's central bank board on Feb 16, 2001 said it wouldn't change monetary policy as recent inflation figures are satisfactory and future goals look attainable. "Given the good performance of the observed and projected inflation rate, the board of…
Irish cbank governor nominated for another term
Ireland's Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy on Feb 16, 2001 said he has formally asked the president of Ireland, Mary McAleese, to re-appoint Maurice O'Connell as governor of the Central Bank of Ireland for another seven-year term. O'Connell, 65,…
Large value Taiwan note will not trigger inflation
The issuance of a new NT$2,000 note in July 2001 will not trigger inflation, a financial official said Feb 16, 2001. In an attempt to allay fears that the debut of the large-denominated note will accelerate inflation, Wu Shaw-chii, director-general of…
O'Neill signals hands-off stance on world economy
Paul O'Neill, the U.S. Treasury secretary, on Feb 14, 2001 indicated the new Bush administration would take a strongly skeptical view of official intervention in global markets to help stabilize the world economy, the Financial Times reported in its Feb…
Interview: BoE's MPC member Sushil Wadhwani
Sushil Wadhwani, an "external" member of the monetary policy committee of the Bank of England, explains why he is a "productivity optimist". Over the last decade, forecasters have systematically underestimated GDP growth in the UK and simultaneously…
'Credit, Interest Rates, Open Economy' - ed.Rochon
"Credit, Interest Rates and the Open Economy: Essays on Horizontalism" is a new book edited by Louis-Philippe Rochon and Matias Vernengo. Published by Edward Elgar, February 2001, 296 pp, Hardback, 1 84064 098 7, £59.95, $90.00.
Chad's economy minister dies in plane crash
Chad's minister for economic development died in a plane crash as he returned from a board meeting of the regional central bank in Congo Republic, government sources said on Feb 15, 2001. In addition to the minister, Ahmat Lamine Ali, a senior government…
IMF's Koehler sees Europe 2001 growth exceeding US
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Horst Koehler said on Feb 15 he saw European GDP growth in 2001 of some three percent against two percent expected for the United States. In a wide-ranging conversation with Italian business daily Il Sole 24…
Swedish cbank board member mulled rate cut-minutes
Sweden's central bank, or Riksbank, said on Feb 15, 2001 its board, which sets monetary policy, had agreed unanimously at its last meeting on Feb 1, 2001 to keep the key repo rate unchanged at 4.00 percent. During the monetary policy discussion, however,…
Fed's Broaddus-Odds high US economic recovery near
The odds that the U.S. economy will recover soon are "reasonably high," Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Alfred Broaddus said on Feb 15, 2001. Broaddus told reporters after addressing a forum sponsored by Bennett College and the Greensboro…
Turk cenbank chief sees slower inflation in Q2
Turkish inflation will drop to one percent monthly or less from summer 2001 as a $4 billion IMF-backed plan to cut chronic high inflation progresses, Central Bank head Gazi Ercel said on Feb 15. In an interview, Ercel said a slowdown in the economy and…
Romanian CPI trend downward despite Jan spike-BNR
Inflation in Romania continued at a faster-than-desired pace over the past year but its underlying trend remains downward despite a January 2001 consumer price inflation spike, the central bank (BNR) said on Feb 15, 2001. "Data showed a slower-than…
Gjedrem - Norwegian econ near capacity limits
Norwegian Central Bank Governor Svein Gjedrem, citing high inflation growth, a burgeoning surplus, and increased government spending, indicated late on Feb 15 that Norway is unlikely to follow the lead of other central banks in cutting key lending rates…
Prodi says Britain will lose influence outside eur
European Commission President Romano Prodi warned Britain on Feb 15, 2001 it would lose control over its economy if it remained outside the euro. Challenging the widespread fear in Britain that signing up to the euro would entail a major surrender of…
Fed Poole- forecasts subject to significant error
The consensus view of private sector economists that U.S. gross domestic product will grow 2.1% in 2001 is "reasonable," but also subject to significant error, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President William Poole said on Feb 15, 2000. Thus it's…
Mexico says 2000 GDP grew at robust 6.9 pct
Mexico's gross domestic product expanded by 6.9 percent during 2000, the fastest growth rate seen by Latin America's second-largest economy in nearly 20 years even with a year-end slowdown, the Finance Ministry said on Feb 15, 2001. The country's…
Interview: ECB's Otmar Issing
The chief economist and executive board member of the EuropeanCentral Bank gives an inside view on the ECB's thinking: Why hasthe ECB recently started publishing macroeconomic projectionsrather than forecasts, and what do these projections mean…
Japan LDP members call for BOJ's Hayami to resign
Some members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) financial panel called for Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami to resign at a meeting on Feb 14, 2001 a senior panel member said.They criticised Hayami for ending the policy of guiding key…
Fed's Stern sees improved economy in Jan 2001
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Gary Stern said on Feb. 14, 2001 that slower growth in business inventories in December 2000 and improved retail sales and employment data in January 2001 were constructive indicators for the economy. "It…
Belarus c.bank cuts key rate to 75 pct from Feb 21
Belarus' central bank said on Feb 14, 2001 it will cut the refinancing rate to 75 percent annually from 80 percent, effective February 21. The central bank said the current rate, effective since December 1, 2000 was being cut due to slower inflation,…
Bank of England expects growth to slow in Q2 2001
The United Kingdom's annual growth rate will drop to around 2% in the second half of 2001, the Bank of England projected, even as unemployment data showed the number of jobless Britons fell far more than expected in January 2001. In its first quarterly…