Central Banks
Iceland confounds expectations with rate hold
The Central Bank of Iceland surprised markets on Thursday, opting to hold rates, rather than raise them.
Swiss Re's Raaflaub to head new regulator
Patrick Raaflaub, the head of group capital management at Swiss Re, a reinsurance company, will direct Switzerland's new super regulator the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
Pakistan raises rates 150bp
The State Bank of Pakistan hiked rates to 12% on Thursday.
Fed minutes reveal some reluctance to cut rates
Most members of the Federal Open Market Committee viewed the decision to cut rates by a quarter point in April as a close call, the minutes of the meeting reveal.
Recovery requires more than Fed cuts: Warsh
Returning the economy to equilibrium requires actions more befitting than changes in the federal funds rate alone, noted Kevin Warsh, a governor at the Federal Reserve.
Settlement system links present risks
Connections between two of Canada's main settlements systems present a threat to efficiency, research by the country's central bank finds.
Central banks key to South Asian payment systems
Central banks must spark the development of South Asian payment systems, said Ranee Jayamaha, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Inflation targeting a dangerous fad, says Stiglitz
Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Prize-winning economist and Columbia University professor, has panned inflation targeting as a "fad" that could lead to economic disaster.
I was forced out: ex-Nigerian deputy
Wahia Mshelia, a former deputy governor at the Central Bank of Nigeria, has alleged that she was forced to quit after falling out with Charles Soludo, the institution's governor, local media reported on Wednesday. Soludo has denied the claims.
UK bank blacklists SWFs on ethical grounds
Most of their peers are stepping up their efforts to court sovereign wealth fund revenue, but the UK-based Co-operative Bank is shunning several because of human rights abuses by their controlling governments.
Two new vice presidents for Chicago Fed
Carl Tannenbaum, the former chief economist at LaSalle Bank, has joined the Chicago Federal Reserve as vice president. The central bank has also promoted Steve Durfey, the assistant vice president responsible for the supervision and regulation department…
Smets to replace Reichlin as ECB research head
Frank Smets, the deputy director general of the European Central Bank's research department, is to replace current head Lucrezia Reichlin, when she leaves the institution in September.
Bank voted 8-1 in favour of May hold
Only one of the Bank of England's nine Monetary Policy Committee members voted to cut rates earlier this month, a sign of the Bank's intent to fight inflation.
Leave rates at record high, IMF tells NZ
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to avoid cutting rates until clearer signs of a slump emerge.
MIT's Blanchard to become IMF chief economist?
Olivier Blanchard, an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will be the next chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) a leading German weekly has reported.
EBRD appoints Mirow as chief
Thomas Mirow, the state secretary of the German Finance Ministry, will replace Jean Lemierre as head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the development bank for most of Central and Eastern Europe.
IMF's Lipsky cautious on recent bout of calm
John Lipsky, the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, refused to call the end of the global turmoil in a speech on Tuesday.
Discomfort over inflation led RBA to hold
Despite signs that domestic demand is weakening, Reserve Bank of Australia opted to leave rates at a 12-year high of 7.25% in May on the back of "uncomfortably high" inflation figures.
We must avoid the errors of the 70s: Trichet
Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), has warned that the world's central bankers risk a return to the dark days of the 1970s if they cut rates in the current climate.
Lomax decides to quit the Bank
Rachel Lomax, a deputy governor at the Bank of England, will leave when her term ends at the end of June.
Ghana raises rates by 175bp
The Bank of Ghana has hiked its benchmark interest rate to 16% on the back of soaring inflation.
Bernanke letter confirms interest payment plans
Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, has called on Congress to allow the institution to pay interest on banks' reserves - a move reported earlier this month. The change will stop interbank charges falling below the federal funds rate.
Bundesbank expects euro inflation to accelerate
The Bundesbank on Monday said it expects inflation to increase further in the coming months and that the measure could stay above the European Central Bank's (ECB) target in the long term.