Central Banks
Juncker says ECB not only one concerned on rates
The exchange rate policy is not the exclusive domain of the European Central Bank, the head of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker said in a newspaper interview published Thursday 20 July.
Mishkin approved by Senate Banking panel
The Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday 19 July approved the nomination of academic Frederic Mishkin to be a member of the Federal Reserve Board of governors.
Comment: Noyer takes Kroes to task
The Bank of France governor, Christian Noyer, said on 18 July that the European Commission is "playing a very dangerous game" in attempting to break open the European credit card market. How legitimate are his concerns?
Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Report, Jul 2006
The Federal Reserve published its July 2006 Monetary Policy Report to the Congress on Wednesday 19 July. The U.S. economy continued to expand at a brisk rate, on balance, over the first half of 2006, the report said.
Bank of England voted 7-0 to hold rates
Minutes from the Bank of England's 5 and 6 July Monetary Policy Committee meeting, published Wednesday 19 July, showed policy makers voted unanimously to keep the benchmark interest rate at 4.5 percent this month.
Former RBA official supports Stevens
Former Reserve Bank of Australia board member Dick Warburton was quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as saying that he has a lot of faith in the central bank's deputy governor Glenn Stevens.
ADB says China must tighten monetary policy
A senior Asian Development Bank official told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday 18 July that China needs to tighten its monetary policy to tackle an overheated economy and cut inefficient investment.
Comment: Bernanke focuses on risks
In his remarks following the delivery of the Fed's semi-annual monetary policy to Congress, Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, adopted an approach very much in keeping with his predecessor, Alan Greenspan. What does this mean for the Fed's inflation targeting…
Bollard on agriculture, monetary policy, economy
In the speech 'Agriculture, monetary policy and the economy' given on 18 July Alan Bollard of the RBNZ said at the moment the New Zealand economy is moving into a rebalancing period.
Villasante steps down from Bank of Spain
Pedro Pablo Villasante, the director of supervision at the Bank of Spain, is to be nominated secretary-general of the Spanish banking association, the AEB, El Pais reported.
Comment: Rethinking financial stability reporting
The Bank of England recently unveiled its revamped Financial Stability Report. Starting with the title of the publication, the Bank has taken a new approach to both the presentation of report and its content. The changes are an effort to focus the report…
US says IMF gold revaluation not an option
U.S. Treasury Under Secretary Tim Adams said on Monday 17 July that it would not be appropriate for International Monetary Fund gold reserves to be revalued to support its financing to make up for reduced demand for emergency loans.
BoE paper on efficient payment systems
The Bank of England Working Paper "The welfare benefits of stable and efficient payment systems" examines the importance of smoothly functioning payment systems to the economy by extending a recently developed theoretical model of banks.
Former Banque du Liban governor dies aged 91
Philippe Taqla, who held various official positions including governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, died recently aged 91.
Welmega declines Sri Lanka monetary board post
Newspaper reports said businessman Nimal Welgama has rejected a seat on the monetary board of the Central bank of Sri Lanka due to an ongoing inquiry by the central bank.
ACU to discuss payment systems efficiency
Members of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) will meet in Dhaka this week to discuss ways to make their payment systems easier to use to boost trade, a Bangladesh central bank official told Reuters.
Comment: More pounds in their pockets
According to the most recent IMF data on reserve holdings, the pound sterling has surpassed the yen as the third most popular reserve currency. A number of factors could see the pound's popularity increase further.
IMF paper on international policy coordination
The IMF Working Paper "International policy coordination and simple monetary policy rules" studies the optimal design of monetary policy in an optimizing two-country sticky price model.
UAE says reserves shift not political
In an interview with the Financial Times, the United Arab Emirates' central bank governor confirmed a strategic decision had been taken to move 10 per cent of its $29bn foreign exchange reserves into euros.
BOJ raises rates, Fukui staying put
The Bank of Japan on Friday 14 July ended its five-year-old policy of keeping interest rates near zero, saying that the nation has emerged from deflation and overcome the long economic slump.
Barbados' Williams says hands off her staff
According to the Barbados Nation, the governor of the central bank of Barbados, Dr Marion Williams, has asked commercial banks to stop poaching her staff.
Comment: A new era for the BoJ
As expected the Bank of Japan raised interest rates for the first time since March 2001 at its monetary policy meeting on 14 July. The decision to end the zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) with a 25 basis point hike in the overnight rate was unanimous one.
IMF says BOJ hike welcome news
A senior IMF official on Friday 14 July welcomed the decision by the Bank of Japan to end the era of zero interest rates.
Dominican central bank adds UK£ to reserves
Dominican Republic is adding British pounds to its foreign monetary reserves because the United Kingdom's assets offer attractive return margins, central bank governor Hector Valdez Albizu said in an interview.