Reserves
Thai bond plan seen as 'ambitious'
THAILAND - Thailand's plan to issue the equivalent of $18.5bn (£12.6bn) in baht bonds to pay for the central bank's massive losses from the 1997 crash are "very ambitious" and must be handled with care, said economists on Sunday.
Brazil's central bank pays to keep money at home
BRAZIL - Brazil's central bank, seeking to stem an outflow of money from the country, offered banks the ability to swap local currency interest rates for dollar-linked yields.
Figures show Argentina's economy shrinking
ARGENTINA - Argentina's economy shrank 16% during the first three months of this year the government has revealed, plunging the country ever deeper into a recession that has now lasted for three-and-a-half years.
Argentina to offer bonds for savings
ARGENTINA - Thousands of savers in Argentina have been given a month to decide if they want to swap their bank deposits for government bonds.
IMF to support Uruguay and Brazil
US - The International Monetary Fund has moved to provide financial help to Uruguay and Brazil, both affected by the crisis in Argentina.
China's gold exchange to open next month
CHINA - China's long-awaited liberalisation of the tightly controlled gold market will kick off with the opening of the Shanghai Gold Exchange next month, an exchange official has said.
Bank of Canada Working Paper 2002-16
RESEARCH - The Bank of Canada has published a paper titled 'A Market Microstructure Analysis of Foreign Exchange Intervention in Canada', by Chris D'Souza. He concludes that central banks considering intervention must also consider both the signal it…
Bank of Canada Working Paper 2002-15
RESEARCH - The Bank of Canada has pubished a paper on 'Corporate Bond Spreads and the Business Cycle' by Zhiwei Zhang. It examines the predictive power of credit spreads from the corporate bond market. High-yield bond and investment-grade spreads can…
Dutch central bank move supports gold
NETHERLANDS - Jan Lamers of the Netherlands Bank is the first central banker to confirm that the volume of gold being lent to the market has started to decline.
Preventing country crises and corporate failures
LETTER - The most recent 'Economic Letter' published on the San Francisco Fed's website concerns 'Country Crises and Corporate Failures: Lessons for Prevention and Management?', by Reuven Glick of the Center for Pacific Basin Monetary and Economic…
Private sector consensus on sov debt restructuring
PRESS RELEASE - A joint press release issued by private sector financial industry leaders announces a consensus inspired by market-based principles on crisis management and sovereign debt restructuring, June 11.
ECB Working Paper Series
RESEARCH - This paper develops a new Early Warning System model for predicting financial crises. It is shown that some EWS approaches can be subject to a 'post-crisis bias'. An optimal design of EWS models is suggested allowing policy-makers to make an…
IMF response to Lerrick-Meltzer proposals
REPORT - The IMF responds to the Lerrick-Meltzer proposal to involve the private sector in the resolution of financial crises. It ultimately concludes that their proposals 'would not be a valuable addition to the existing instruments of the Fund'.
European Central Bank Publication
REPORT - Developments in Banks' Liquidity Profile and Management, May 2002.
Norges Bank Press Release, 30 May
PRESS RELEASE - The Government Petroleum Fund records a 0.6 per cent return in the first quarter, 30 May.
Argentina debates economic law change
ARGENTINA - Argentine senators are due to discuss whether to repeal a controversial law which has been putting off international lenders on Thursday.
BOJ's Hayami says forex must be watched closely
JAPAN - Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami said on Thursday he wanted to closely watch moves in the foreign exchange market, adding the recent rise in the yen was due to caution on the U.S. economy and hopes for a recovery in Japan.
Iran to offer euro-denominated bonds
IRAN - For the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran has signed a deal with two foreign banks to market Iranian revenue bonds on the international market.
Bank of Japan acts to halt yen rise
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan was ordered by the Ministry of Finance to intervene to weaken the yen for the second consecutive day yesterday as part of the government's drive to ensure that the country's fledgling economic recovery is given a chance to get…
Ignatyev: Enough reserves to defend ruble
RUSSIA - The Central Bank warned the market Thursday that it would not hesitate to dip into its growing pile of dollars to prevent any serious fall in the ruble and keep prices in check.
Speech by Fed Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson, 21 May
SPEECH - "It does appear that a turnaround is under way and the question obviously is how robust it is going to be for the rest of this year," Ferguson said in answer to a question after giving a speech titled 'Community and Regional Banks: Increasing…
Argentina taking steps for IMF accord - President
ARGENTINA - An accord between the Argentine government and its provinces will be signed within the next 10 days paving the way for an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde said in an interview published on…
Gold price rises on war fears
INDIA - Fears of a military conflict between India and Pakistan pushed the price of gold to a 27-month high in trading on Wednesday.
IMF Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - IMF Managing Director meets Argentine Economy Minister, Board extends repayment of SRF, 21 May.