Central Banks
Australia raises rates citing inflation pressures
The Reserve Bank of Australia announced on Wednesday 2 March that it was increasing interest rates by 25 basis points, to 5.5 per cent. It was the first shift in monetary policy by the RBA since December 2003.
Richmond Fed's Lacker on inflation targeting
In a speech on 'Inflation targeting and the conduct of monetary policy' given on 1 March, Jeffrey Lacker of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said the Federal Reserve should adopt a target for US inflation, in part to keep concerns about price…
Publication of papers from ECB workshop
On 13 and 14 December 2004 the Directorate General Economics in co-operation with the Directorate General Research of the European Central Bank (ECB) held a workshop on "Monetary policy implications of heterogeneity in a currency area". The ECB published…
Zimbabwe plans new currency next year
Zimbabwe will introduce a new currency next year, phasing out bank notes introduced two years ago as a stop-gap measure to ease critical cash shortages across the country, a government daily reported on Wednesday.
EU's Almunia confident on stability pact deal soon
The European Union commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, Joaquin Almunia, said on Wednesday 2 March that he was confident agreement would be reached "soon" on the Stability and Growth Pact.
ECB's Trichet on mon. policy stability
In a speech on 'Monetary policy and private expectations' given on 25 February, Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said a renewed fellowship between the academic community, the markets and central banks has allowed central banks to effectively deliver the…
Museum of Australian currency notes
The Reserve Bank of Australia has opened from 1 March a Museum of Australian Currency Notes on the ground floor of its Head Office in Sydney.
Should the euro be the reserve currency?
In this article published on Sunday 27 February, Roger Bootle says that although South Korea denied speculation it is considering switching some of its reserves out of dollars and into euros, it would be startling if South Korea, and other countries,…
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Mar/Apr 2005
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for March-April 2005 includes the article "Communication, transparency, accountability: Monetary policy in the twenty-first century" by Otmar Issing. The issue also includes a paper by Ellen Meade titled …
Norway's Gjedrem on economic perspectives
In his annual address 'Economic perspectives' given on 17 February, Svein Gjedrem of Norges Bank said Norway can gradually raise interest rates from historic lows because economic growth looks increasingly self-sustaining and stubbornly low inflation has…
BoE's Tucker on monetary policy and stability
In a speech on 'Monetary policy, stability and structural change' given on 1 March, Paul Tucker of the Bank of England said that excess demand in the UK economy was expected to boost inflation over the next few years.
Bank of Canada keeps interest rate unchanged
The Bank of Canada announced on Tuesday 1 Marchthat it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 2 1/2 per cent. The Bank said the outlook for the Canadian economy and inflation remained essentially unchanged since January.
China to let foreign agencies sell yuan bonds
China will allow global agencies such as the World Bank to sell yuan-denominated bonds for the first time, the People's Bank of China said in a statement on its website.
NBP's Rybinski denies rates will be slashed
A senior official from the National Bank of Poland warned markets on Monday 28 February that expectations of a sharp falls in interest rates this year were misguided.
Fed's Moskow sees job market policy challenge
Chicago Fed president Michael Moskow said on Tuesday 1 March that the US economy still has excess labour and production capacity and that oil price rises have yet to spill into underlying inflation.
Bundesbank Int'l central banking seminars 2005
The Deutsche Bundesbank has announced the programme for its international central banking seminars 2005. The seminars began in January and run throughout the year.
Government leadership and central bank design
This Working Paper published by Vanderbilt University investigates the impact on economic performance of the timing of moves in a policy game between the government and the central bank for a government with both distributional and stabilization…
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, Jan 2005
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for January 2005 was +0.21, down from +0.59 in December. However, all four broad categories of indicators that comprise the index made positive contributions to the January CFNAI.
Japan's Fukui on sustainable economic recovery
In the speech 'Toward sustainable economic recovery' given on 28 February, Toshihiko Fukui of the Bank of Japan said the central bank won't change monetary policy even if it makes a technical adjustment to its target for reserves available to lenders.
Cleveland Fed's Pianalto on central bank goals
In a speech on 'Central banks: Different paths, same goal' given on 21 February, Sandra Pianalto of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland said US inflationary pressures remain muted despite a surge in January wholesale prices.
Report on payment systems in accession countries
The European Central Bank published the latest addendum to the report entitled "Payment and securities settlement systems in the accession countries" (second edition) on Monday 28 February.
Costello warns RBA on rate increase
Australia's Treasurer Peter Costello has put pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia not to raise interest rates when it meets on Tuesday 1 March, saying an increase would go against the RBA's remit.
India's foreign exchange reserves cross $130bn
India's foreign exchange reserves climbed to $132.96 billion in the week ended Feb 18 on large-scale overseas fund inflows into the domestic market, the Reserve Bank of India said on Saturday 26 February.
Southern Africa targets 2016 for monetary union
Countries within the 13-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) have decided to achieve monetary and economic union by 2016, South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni said on Monday 28 February.