Reserves
Kazakh gold/forex reserves up to $2.65 bln
KAZAKHSTAN - Kazakhstan's net gold and foreign currency reserves grew to $2.650 billion on April 15 from $2.625 billion on 31 March, the central bank said on Wednesday.
India considers establishing gold exchange
INDIA - Pressure is building on the Indian federal government to give clearance for setting up a gold exchange for spot, forward and futures trading in the precious metal.
Japan's credit rating lowest among G-7 nations
US - Japan's credit ratings were cut to "AA-" by Standard & Poor's, the third reduction in 14 months for the world's second-biggest economy.
WGC reaffirms, central banks should not sell gold
AUSTRALIA - The World Gold Council is continuing to ask European central banks to leave their reserves alone rather than putting quantities of gold up for auction, WGC managing director Robert Weinberg said Tuesday.
Philippines - Derivatives supervision tightened
PHILIPPINES - The Philippine Central Bank has tightened its supervision of the derivatives market by requiring the affiliates of all financial institutions to seek approval from the monetary authority before undertaking such transactions.
Gold market calmer on Welteke reassurance
GERMANY - The gold market was reassured by the statement made by Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke on Thursday that the international agreement limiting gold sales by central banks was worth extending once it expired at the end of 2004 and that any…
Central Bank changes worry forex market
UGANDA - The forex market has been unnerved by Bank of Uganda's decision to intervene discreetly rather than announce its specific actions in the market.
Taiwan has third largest currency reserve in world
TAIWAN - Taiwan's currency reserves continue to accumulate and at the end of March they reached the historic level of $128.03 billion, the island's Central Bank announced on Friday.
WGC responds to speculation on Buba gold reserves
GERMANY - The World Gold Council has responded to speculation arising out of recent statements made by the President of Germany's Bundesbank and others by giving its reasons why the Deutsche Bundesbank should continue to hold its gold reserves.
Poland's c bank intends to cut mandatory reserves
POLAND - Poland's central bank NBP intends to decrease the level of mandatory reserves to 2% from the current 4.5% with the aim of adjusting the Polish system in line with EU standards, according to the NBP's task schedule for 2002-2004.
Norway c bank governor points to debt risk
NORWAY - Norway's central bank governor Svein Gjedrem reiterated on Friday that high credit growth posed a risk to the Norwegian oil-backed economy.
Argentine c bank says banks can release funds Jan
ARGENTINA - The Argentine Central Bank said on Friday it would allow commercial banks next January to release deposits which have been frozen in their vaults since late last year to the fury of depositors.
Estonian c bank end March reserves up 4.6 pct m/m
ESTONIA - The Estonian central bank said on Friday its gold and foreign currency reserves rose 4.6 percent to 13.9 billion kroons ($781.3 million) by the end of March versus 13.3 billion at end-February.
Applied Financial Economics research paper
RESEARCH - 'The impact of federal reserve intervention on exchange rate volatility: evidence from the futures markets' by Sanjay Ramchander and R. Raymond Sant.
Current crisis is nothing new to Argentina
LETTER - Letter from Professor Steve Hanke published in the US edition of the Financial Times, 4 April.
China updates rules for bank's risk management
CHINA - China's central bank has updated guidelines on internal risk management in an attempt to further coax commercial banks into reducing credit risk.
McDonough - Argentina must find its own solutions
ARGENTINA - The solutions to Argentina's current economic crisis must be found mostly by the country's own leaders, rather than through bailouts from outside the troubled nation, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William McDonough said Tuesday.
Kazakh c bank says expects rating upgrade
KAZAKHSTAN - Kazakhstan's central bank said on Wednesday it expected the country's sovereign credit rating to be upgraded this year and to reach investment rating level next year, paving the way for large scale portfolio investment, reports Reuters.
BNB to take gold reserves out of bank vaults
BULGARIA - The Bulgarian government's recent debt swap operations made the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) start leading a more active policy in managing Bulgaria's foreign currency reserves.
SNB sell 4.1 metric tons of gold in latest 10 days
SWITZERLAND - The Swiss National Bank sold 4.1 metric tons of gold in the latest 10-day reporting period ended March 28, the central bank's regular statistical report showed Tuesday.
Vietnam cuts banks' reserve requirement to 8 pct
VIETNAM - Vietnam's central bank said on Tuesday it had cut the level of reserves banks must maintain for foreign currency deposits to eight percent from 10 percent.
Speech by Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, 2 Mar
SPEECH - Dr Ishrat Hussain, Governor of State Bank, delivered his keynote address at the 51st annual general meeting and prize award ceremony of the Institute of Bankers Pakistan. The address was titled 'Strategy for External Debt Management 1999 - 2004'.
IMF dilutes its role in int'l bankruptcy plan
US - The International Monetary Fund on Monday amended its proposal for developing a system to allow troubled countries to file for bankruptcy protection to give it a smaller role than creditors.
Argentina pleads for new aid
ARGENTINA - A delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has arrived in Argentina to weigh up whether to grant the stricken country fresh aid.