Central Banks
RBA Statement on Monetary Policy, November 2004
The Reserve Bank of Australia published its November 2004 Statement on Monetary Policy on 8 November. The Australian economy has continued to perform well during 2004, maintaining a solid pace of expansion and low inflation, the report said.
Japan's Fukui watching forex market
Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said on Sunday 7 November that the Bank of Japan was watching currency markets warily after the dollar fell last week but did not think Washington was trying to guide the dollar lower.
Illarionov says Russia diversifying fx reserves
By selling US dollars, securities and assets denominated in the US currency, Russia is diversifying its currency reserves, which is in line with the policy pursued by the Central Bank of Russia, Andrei Illarionov, adviser to the Russian President on…
PBOC to take 'gradual and safe' approach on yuan
The People's Bank of China said on Saturday 6 November that it would take a "gradual and safe" approach to loosening the yuan-dollar peg, following International Monetary Fund calls to let the currency float in a wider margin.
Trichet says euro's record rise 'not welcome'
Economic growth "remains very steady," European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said at a briefing after a meeting in Basel, Switzerland, of the G-10 group, which he chairs. "Perhaps we're going to a level that's more sustainable in the medium…
Securities and clearing settlement systems
This ECB occasional paper "Governance of securities clearing and settlement systems" provides a description of the existing general approaches to corporate governance. It then identifies determinants of the corporate governance structures and mechanisms…
Interview with Central Bank of Nigeria's Soludo
In a recent interview Central Bank of Nigeria governor Charles Soludo talked about his plan to increase banks' minimum capital requirement. Soludo gives his opinion on some of the most talked-about points of his plan.
Norway's Gjedrem appointed to second term
Norges Bank governor Svein Gjedrem was appointed to a second term on Friday 29 October. Press reports described the move as a vote of confidence for his management policies.
Albania votes in new central bank chief
Albania's parliament voted to confirm some changes to top executive posts on Thursday 28 October including the appointment of Ardian Fullani as the new central bank governor.
Interview with Central Bank of Cuba's Soberon
In an interview published this week, president Francisco Soberon of the Central Bank of Cuba said it would be extremely unwise for Cuba to change the one-to-one exchange rate to the dollar after the Cuban people have shown such confidence in the Cuban…
Bank of Israel promotes 20 percent of staff
A press report said this week that Bank of Israel governor David Klein has decided to promote 20 per cent of the central bank's staff, with salary increases of between 10 and 15 per cent. Haaretz said the move was made without consulting the workers…
RBI names Gopinath as key department head
Shyamala Gopinath, a deputy governor in the Reserve Bank of India, took charge of the key departments of monetary policy and internal debt management this week following Rakesh Mohan's move to Economic Affairs secretary in the government.
CBN may lose 2,000 staff
The Central Bank of Nigeria may lose up to 2,000 staff as part of a restructuring of the bank, press reports said this week. The majority of the affected employees work in four departments which are to be phased out as part of the plans, Vanguard said.
List of Greenspan successors shrinks
The re-election of President George Bush sharply narrows the field of candidates to succeed Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve chief, this article says. Steven Cecchetti is quoted as saying Martin Feldstein is the unconditional best candidate.
Dallas Fed's McTeer says 'Goodbye and howdy'
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Bob McTeer resigned on Thursday 4 October to become chancellor at Texas A&M University, ending a 36-year career in the Federal Reserve system. In a statement posted on the Dallas Fed's website on Thursday titled …
Ukrainian election heads for runoff vote
The top two candidates to succeed Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma are heading for a run-off vote on 21 November, after neither won a majority in the first round. Former governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko is one of the candidates.
Tumpel-Gugerell on the euro's success & challenges
In a speech 'Six years after the euro: Success and challenges' given on 5 November, Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell of the ECB said excessive volatility in the foreign-exchange market is "not beneficial" and can be "painful" for exporters.
Bergstrom: Riksbank to blame for unemployment?
In a speech titled 'Is the Riksbank to blame for unemployment?' given on 4 November Villy Bergstrom of the Sveriges Riksbank said all factual criticism of the Riksbank's forecasts is good, but there's a risk of concentrating the debate on our interest…
The Mussa Theorem & IMF induced moral hazard
Using a simple model of international lending, this IMF Working Paper shows that as long as the IMF lends at an actuarially fair interest rate and debtor governments maximize the welfare of their taxpayers, any changes in policy effort, capital flows, or…
NBU chief downbeat on common currency idea
The acting head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Arsen Yatsenyuk, said in an interview that there can be no question of introducing a common currency with Russia.
Taylor predicts smooth deficit adjustment in US
US Treasury Under secretary John Taylor has said he expects a smooth adjustment in the large US current account deficit. While some have bemoaned the increase in the deficit, Taylor said it was good news.
IMF's Rato calls on Bush to work on deficits
IMF managing director Rodrigo Rato was quoted as saying on Friday 5 November that newly re-elected US president George Bush should turn his attention to the country's budget and trade deficits as part of a global push to spur growth after winning re…
Italy's Fazio sees 2005 growth less than 2%
Bank of Italy governor Antonio Fazio told a conference he expects GDP in the third quarter to have risen 0.3 pct from the previous quarter, and forecast Italian growth of less than 2 pct for the whole of 2005.
RBA fights to preserve secrecy
The Australian newspaper is attempting to have released the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's meetings and voting records for 2003/04 released under Australia's Freedom of Information laws. But the nine-member board -- whose six external…