Reserves
Inquiry says fx controls contributed to rand fall
SOUTH AFRICA - A public inquiry into the sharp fall of the South African currency last year blames the country's slow pace of privatisation and the tightening of exchange controls.
Cen bank dollar-buying boosts Thailand's reserves
THAILAND - Thailand's foreign reserves jumped by nearly 2% to a five-year high last week, official data showed on Friday, as the country's central bank bought dollars to slow a rise in the Thai currency.
Indian banks to fortify risk management systems
INDIA - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked the commercial banks in the country not to depend entirely on the certificates issued by the chartered accountants on the financial health of corporate borrowers.
Argentine rescue
FEATURE - Next week, four wise men are off to Buenos Aires. Their mission is to help Argentina's government and the International Monetary Fund to reach agreement on a programme of economic recovery. If they are to succeed, they must inject a sense of…
Brazilian real hits new low as c bank cuts rates
BRAZIL - The Brazilian real has closed at a record low against the dollar after the country's central bank announced a surprise cut in interest rates.
Historical Model Describes 1900s Gold Standard
RESEARCH - An article in the latest edition of Economic Perspectives, from the Chicago Fed, looks at how the United States adopted the gold standard in the late nineteenth century, pegging the dollar to the British pound sterling and other currencies.
Think tank recommends orderly change in Argentina
ARGENTINA - Argentine authorities must take care to avoid a chaotic and unpredictable restructuring of the country's fragile financial system, local economic think-tank Fundacion Capital (FC) said in a report on the financial system.
Argentina overcomes debt hurdle for now
ARGENTINA - Argentina has won a year's extension on the repayment of a key loan from the International Monetary Fund.
Speech by William Poole, St Louis Fed Bank, 12 Jul
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Fed Policy to the Bond Yield' Poole said that the recent slump in U.S. stock prices was a source of pessimism, but it was not likely to throw economic recovery off track.
China's foreign exchange reserves reach 242.7bn US
CHINA - China's foreign exchange reserves reached 242.76bn US dollars by the end of June this year, up 34.2 per cent over a year earlier, according to statistics released by the People's Bank of China, the central bank, on Thursday.
Russia change valuation of gold and forex reserves
RUSSIA - The Central Bank of Russia is changing the method for calculating the gold and foreign exchange reserves, Central Bank First Deputy Chairman Oleg Vyugin said on Thursday.
Yugoslavia to issue €4.1bn of bonds
YUGOSLAVIA - Yugoslavia is set to issue €4.1bn worth of bonds in early August as part of its domestic debt settlement, which could pave the way for the creation of a liquid debt market, a Yugoslav central bank official said.
Eurosystem currency reserves unchanged this week
GERMANY - The European Central Bank said eurosystem net foreign currency reserves were virtually unchanged at 232.6 mln euro in the week ending 5 July.
IMF mission to Argentina seeks account access bar
ARGENTINA - The IMF will hold up disbursement of 9.5 bln usd in aid unless the government denies bank depositors any access to their accounts, government officials said after a federal judge found the ban unconstitutional.
Bank Negara reserves reach 2-year high
MALAYSIA - Bank Negara Malaysia's international reserves reached their highest level in two years to RM127.7 billion when they jumped RM3.6 billion at the end of June.
ECB won't discuss freeing up for ex reserves
GERMANY - Central bank reserves of foreign currency which have been seen as one answer to the Government's public finance problems are not up for discussion, the European Central Bank said Friday.
Brazil party may give its backing to IMF plan
BRAZIL - Brazil's leftwing Workers' party, which is still leading opinion polls ahead of October's presidential elections, says it may back an accord with the International Monetary Fund in order to reassure investors.
Argentina 'will not force savings swap'
ARGENTINA - Thousands of savers in Argentina will not be forced to swap their bank deposits for government bonds, the country's president has said.
Iran plans its first bond issue since 1979
IRAN - Iran hopes to next week issue its first international bond since the 1979 Islamic revolution, according to Mohsen Noorbakhsh, the governor of Iran's central bank.
Real rises after central bank resumes intervention
BRAZIL - The real rose after the Brazilian central bank said it is resuming its former policy of daily interventions in the foreign exchange market, dealers said.
For-ex reserves cross $57-bn mark in India
INDIA - India's foreign exchange reserves have shot up by half a billion dollars in one week to cross the $57 billion mark during the week ended 21 June.
Duhalde seeks faster deal with IMF for Argentina
ARGENTINA - Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde expressed his impatience on Saturday at the slow pace of debt relief talks with the IMF, as his top negotiator ruled out further reforms to monetary policy.
Soros says central banks should bailout Brazil
ARTICLE - In the wake of the current economic crisis in Brazil, George Soros has said that leading central banks should open their discount windows and refinance the holders of Brazilian debt. Indeed, he expressed surprise that central banks had not…
Intervention pushes dollar back above 120
UK - The dollar surged back over 120 against the yen on Friday and made headway against the euro after Japan's finance ministry confirmed it had asked other central banks to intervene on its behalf to help weaken the Japanese currency.