Central Banks
Norwegian SWF looks to block Buffett takeover
Norway's sovereign wealth fund has filed a lawsuit to block a proposed takeover of a company it part-owns by Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company headed by Warren Buffett, an investor.
Old Lady mulled another mammoth move
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which slashed rates by a percentage point to take them to an all-time low earlier this month, considered backing an even larger move, the minutes of the meeting reveal.
Liquidity risk and sovereign risk premia
A working paper from the Bank of Canada uses arbitrage-pricing theory to study the relationship between liquidity risk and sovereign bond risk premia in the London Stock Exchange in the late 19th century.
DSK on the Fund's future
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has said that the objectives of the Fund remain just as relevant today as they did in the 1940s; the question was how to meet them.
FSF Asia-Pacific statement notes strains
The fifth annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific group of the Basel-based Financial Stability Forum noted that although the region had been able to withstand the financial crisis to date a number of strains had begun to appear.
UK inflation falls as King writes letter
British inflation fell in November but remains far above the Bank of England's target, obliging Mervyn King, the governor of the central bank, to write another letter explaining why inflation remains so high and what the Bank is doing to bring it down.
Saudi announces half-a-point cut
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, Saudi's central bank, reduced its repo rate from 3% to 2.5% on Tuesday.
Venezuelan governor passes away
The governor of the Central Bank of Venezuela, Gaston Parra Luzardo, died in hospital over the weekend. He was 75.
ECB - Financial Stability Review
The European Central Bank released their bi-annual Financial Stability Review on Monday, which highlighted four key risks and vulnerabilities for the financial system.
Global monetary policy and domestic stability
This paper by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority examines the implication of improvements in global monetary-policymaking on the macroeconomic performance of small open economies.
Vietnam shuffles senior managers
The State Bank of Vietnam announced eight new senior managers in a major reshuffle at the central bank.
IMF's lending framework needs to change
The framework governing the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) lending operations is no longer appropriate, says a paper from the Bank of England.
South Africa begins loosening cycle
The South African Reserve Bank has cut its key rate from a five-year high and indicated it has room to ease further in the coming months.
Fed floats bond issuance
The Federal Reserve is considering issuing its own bonds as a means to absorb the liquidity with which it has flooded markets as well as for fundraising purposes.
Swiss cut rates on gloomy growth forecast
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has cut its benchmark target range by a further half a point and said that it expects the economy to contract by up to 1% next year.
Fiji launches "smaller, thinner, lighter" coins
The Reserve Bank of Fiji completed its currency reform with the unveiling of new 5, 10, 20, 50 cent and $1 coins at a ceremony on Thursday.
Senior PNG officials shift roles
The Bank of Papua New Guinea has altered its management structure in a bid to enhance efficiency.
IMF's Strauss-Kahn: monetary policy limited
When the real economy has stalled looser monetary policy has only a limited effect, said Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
Fed's Kroszner on restoring confidence in MBS
Comprehensive and standardised loan-level data covering the entire pool of loans backing mortgage-backed securities (MBS) was needed so that the underlying credit quality could be analysed more easily, said Randall Kroszner, the governor of the Federal…
Britons lower inflation expectations
The British public significantly lowered its inflation expectations, the latest Inflation Attitudes Survey from the Bank of England reveals.
NZ's Bollard tells business to pitch in
Alan Bollard, the governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, on Wednesday urged businesses to cut prices so that the central bank can keep rates low.
Bank's City ambassador gets the nod for deputy
Paul Tucker, the executive director responsible for markets at the Bank of England, will replace Sir John Gieve as the deputy governor responsible for financial stability.
Fed "extremely reluctant" to bail out Detroit
Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, has indicated that the central bank would be extremely reluctant to prop up Detroit's ailing big-three car companies.