Central Banks
Fed's Bernanke on the outlook for the U.S. economy
In the speech 'Panel discussion: Comments on the outlook for the U.S. economy and monetary policy' given on 5 June Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said recent increases in measures of inflation ``are unwelcome'' and he will ensure the trend isn't…
Legal foundations of int'l monetary stability
A new book by Rosa Maria Lastra, a senior lecturer in International Financial and Monetary Law, describes the legal framework promoting, and policy implications of, monetary and financial stability.
The beginning of the end for inflation targeting
This article by Wolfgang Munchau published Monday 5 June in the Financial Times says that while an inflation targeting strategy has worked well for some central banks - notably the Bank of England - it did not work out as well for others.
Interview with BOJ's financial markets head
In an interview with Reuters published on Monday 5 June, Hiroshi Nakaso, director-general of the Bank of Japan's financial markets department said the BOJ is not targeting a particular level of reserves as it draws down excess liquidity from the banking…
Philadelphia Fed names new president
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia announced Tuesday 6 June that Charles I. Plosser, a professor of economics, has been named president of the Philadelphia Fed.
PBOC's Zhou says no monetary tightening plan now
People's Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan has said the PBOC does not plan to start further monetary tightening measures and will instead wait to assess the impact of its previous policy action.
Comment: Sharing the cost of banking crises
The need for an ex-ante commitment to sharing the cost of cross-border banking crises in Europe is suggested in a speech by Eva Srejber and a paper by Charles Goodhart and Dirk Schoenmaker. But is it feasible?
Norges Bank's Annual Report on payment systems 05
Changes in the use of different payment instruments have resulted in a further increase in the efficiency of the Norwegian payment system, said Deputy Governor Jarle Bergo when he presented the Annual Report on Payment Systems at a press conference on 31…
Costa Rica selects OpenLink's Findur
OpenLink, a leading provider of financial and commodity trading, risk management, and operations processing software solutions, announced Monday 5 June that Costa Rica's central bank, Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR), has licensed Findur, the company's…
IMF approves Lipsky as first deputy MD
The International Monetary Fund's board on Thursday 1 June approved John Lipsky as IMF first deputy managing director, the second-highest position at the Fund.
NY Fed's Geithner on uncertainty and transparency
In the speech 'Uncertainty and transparency in the conduct of monetary policy' given on 31 May Timothy Geithner of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said the neutral range of U.S. interest rates is almost impossible to capture, making the near-term…
Sweden's berg on the economy and monetary policy
In a speech given on Tuesday 30 May, Sveriges Riksbank deputy governor Svante berg said in his experiences of forecasting work there is considerable uncertainty linked to longer-term forecasts.
Buba's Weber on European financial integration
In the speech 'European financial integration and (its implications for) monetary policy' given on 23 May Axel Weber of the Deutsche Bundesbank said financial integration is a mostly beneficial process which is driven by market forces as well as…
Getting to the bottom of foreign currency reserves
According to this recent article from The Japan Times, the news about sharp increases in foreign reserves held by emerging economies has been big news in Japanese papers.
ECB reshuffle aims for collegiate mood
According to the article "ECB reshuffle aims for collegiate mood and focus on policy" published by the FT on Friday 2 June, the European Central Bank has divided the role of its chief economist in a move that will allow an evolution in ECB thinking and…
Interview with Otmar Issing
In an interview published Thursday 1 June, outgoing ECB chief economist Otmar Issing said his parting message to his ECB colleagues was to get to grips with inflation.
Danmarks Nationalbank, Financial Stability 2006
Denmark's central bank published its Financial Stability report for 2006 on Friday 2 June. According to the report, Denmark is currently enjoying favourable economic conditions.
Burhan Goklemez named dep gov in Turkey
Turkey named central bank insider Burhan Goklemez as a deputy governor of the bank on Wednesday 31 May.
Kohn Senate hearing set for 8 June
The Senate Banking Committee said on Thursday 1 June that it will hold a hearing on the nomination of Federal Reserve governor Donald Kohn to be vice chairman at the Fed next Thursday.
Sveriges Riksbank, Financial Stability Report 1:06
Sweden's central bank, the Sveriges Riksbank, published its first Financial Stability Report for 2006 on 31 May. The prospects of the financial system managing potential shocks are good, according to the report.
Monetary policy conduct of the Swiss National Bank
The Bank of Japan Working Paper "Monetary policy conduct of the Swiss National Bank: the experience from 2001 to 2004" published May 2006 investigates the monetary policy conduct of the SNB during the period 2001 to 2004 and the accompanying financial…
Fed minutes show uncertainty on future hikes
Federal Reserve policymakers at their May meeting considered raising a key interest rate by half a percentage point before deciding on a quarter-point increase, minutes published Wednesday 31 May showed.
BoJ's Fukui on quantitative easing
In a speech given on 1 June Toshihiko Fukui of the Bank of Japan said the central bank's quantitative easing policy, which lasted for nearly five years till March 2006, helped in bringing recovery back to the deflation-hit Japanese economy.
ECB's Financial Stability Review, June 2006
The European Central Bank published its June 2006 Financial Stability Review on 1 June. In the report the ECB said an abrupt unwinding of the US current account deficit could put sharp downward pressure on the dollar and lead to a rise in US long-term…