Central Banks
Qatar confirms SWF partnership with Abu Dhabi
A senior official at Qatar's sovereign wealth fund has said that it will make a series of joint investments with one of Abu Dhabi's four state-run investment vehicles.
Romania raises rates to 9.5%
The National Bank of Romania hiked rates by half a percentage point for the third straight month as inflation hit 8%.
The euro and Latin America
Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, a member of the executive board of the European Central Bank, offered five lessons that can be learned from economic and monetary union in a recent speech in Brazil.
Financial markets in Japan
This new report from the Bank of Japan looks at how financial markets in the country coped with the market turmoil triggered by the subprime woes in the second half of 2007.
Czech challenges in monetary policy
A new paper published by the International Monetary Fund concludes that Czech National Bank will have to raise rates if the proposed reduction of the inflation target in 2010 is not fully incorporated into public-sector behaviour and inflation is above…
Iceland makes emergency hike as krona plummets
The Central Bank of Iceland raised rates by a massive 125 basis points to 15% on Tuesday 25 March, little over a fortnight before its next scheduled rate-setting meeting.
Costs rise for dollar loans despite $50bn auction
The Federal Reserve's latest Term Auction Facility operation failed to quell rising interbank tensions as money-market rates for one-month dollar loans climbed on Tuesday 25 March.
Israeli rates hit record low with half-point cut
The Bank of Israel cut its base rate to a new low of 3.25% on Monday 24 March.
Research deputy to replace Poole at St Louis Fed
James Bullard, the deputy director of research for monetary analysis at the St Louis Federal Reserve, will replace William Poole as the president of the central bank.
Mauritian key rate down to 8.5%
The Bank of Mauritius chopped half a point off its benchmark repo rate on Monday 24 March.
Monetary policy decisions: inputs and outcomes
A new paper from the Bank for International Settlements compares the practices of research and briefing prior to monetary policy decisions at several central banks, and looks at how decisions are presented and explained to markets and the public.
Bank's extra cash to stay in system until April
The Bank of England said on Thursday 20 March that it would carry over the emergency £5 billion ($10 billion) injection made on Monday until just before its next rate-setting meeting.
Pension plans could limit Greek independence: ECB
The European Central Bank (ECB) has spoken out against the plans to reform Greece's pension system, which sparked a strike at the country's central bank earlier this month.
South African politicians want say on rate votes
Lawmakers have called on the South African Reserve Bank to take their opinions into account when setting rates.
Turkey keeps rates on hold
The Central Bank of Turkey has left rates unchanged for the first time in seven months.
Japan without a governor as Fukui steps down
Political squabbling has left the Bank of Japan leaderless at a time of heightened global uncertainty.
April rate cut more likely on back of BoE minutes
Market expectations of an April rate cut rose after the publication of the minutes of the Bank of England's latest Monetary Policy Committee meeting.
Nepalese governor found guilty of corruption
Bijaya Nath Bhattarai, the governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank, has been found guilty of corruption and sacked, media reports said on Wednesday 19 March.
Global warming to exacerbate price pressures
Christian Noyer, the governor of the Banque de France has warned that climate change is set to compound inflationary pressures.
Georgia holds rates at 11%
The National Bank of Georgia on Wednesday 19 March kept rates on hold, after hiking by a full percentage point last month.
Hong Kong's RTGS passes share-dealing-surge test
Optimisers in Hong Kong's high-value payments system meant it was able to cope with the explosion in initial purchase offers and lively market trading in 2007, Esmond Lee and Sara Yip, two members of the Financial Infrastructure Department at the region…
Central banks must communicate with care
While their abandonment of mystique and secrecy is to be commended, central banks' must recognise that more communication is not always better, research published by the International Monetary Fund states.
UK inflation jumps to 2.5%
British inflation rose by 0.3 percentage points in the year to February, an increase that was widely expected after the Bank of England said last month that price growth was set to accelerate over the next quarter. Changes to the way in which the measure…
Overnight rate unchanged despite BoE injection
The Bank of England's attempt to lower sterling short-term interbank borrowing costs by adding £5 billion ($10 billion) to the money markets looks to have failed.