Central Banks
Minutes show BoE board split on rate decision
David Blanchflower, a member of the monetary policy committee at the Bank of England, called for a rate cut at October's meeting, the minutes published on Wednesday reveal.
Too early to call crisis impact: Ireland's Hurley
John Hurley, the governor of the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland, reviewed the impact of the recent banking crisis on the eurozone.
Competition found to impact bank risk
Banking stability may be undermined by competition, according to research published today by the San Francisco Fed.
BoE should have helped earlier: Rock chief
Adam Applegath, the chief executive of Northern Rock, said on Tuesday that injections by the Bank of England earlier on could have mitigated Northern Rock's problems.
Canada keeps rates at 4.5%
The Bank of Canada said on Tuesday that it would hold its target for the overnight rate at 4.5%.
Trichet repeats calls for renminbi appreciation
Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, has again urged China to allow its currency to appreciate.
De Rato U-turns on dollar valuation
Rodrigo de Rato, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said on Monday that the dollar was overvalued despite recently saying that he believed the opposite to be the case.
Poland set to join ERM II in 2009, says Skrzypek
Slawomir Skrzypek, the governor of the National Bank of Poland, said the country looked likely to join the pre-euro exchange rate mechanism, ERM II, in 2009.
September's cut has helped markets, says Bernanke
Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, said that September's 50-basis point cut has alleviated the credit crunch.
Wellink calls for speedy ABN break-up
Nout Wellink, the governor of the Netherlands Bank, has urged the three banks who have taken over ABN AMRO to quickly implement their plans to break it up.
SWF mentioned in Virgin bid for Northern Rock
A Middle-Eastern sovereign wealth fund could make up part of Virgin's consortium bid for Northern Rock.
China hikes reserve requirements to curb lending
The People's Bank of China said on Saturday that it is raising its reserve requirement ratio in order to limit loan growth and inflation.
Gold rises to 27-year high
Gold reached a 27-year high on Monday as oil hit $85 per barrel and the dollar weakened further.
Bernanke and Kohn commend monetary policy pioneer
Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Donald Kohn, the Fed's vice chairman, praised John Taylor, a professor at Stanford University, for his contribution to monetary policy.
Impact of deepening is complex: Italy's Visco
Financial deepening has affected the speed and strength of the monetary policy transmission mechanism, according to Ignazio Visco, a deputy director at the Bank of Italy.
The rise of SWFs is unstoppable
Western governments must accept the rise of sovereign wealth funds as a further sign of a shift in the world economy, according to Gerard Lyons, the chief economist at Standard Chartered, a bank.
China likely to replace Zhou
Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People's Bank of China, is set to lose his job as part of a wide-ranging reshuffle, the details of which will be announced at next week's party congress.
Former financial stability adviser returns to Bank
Alastair Clark, a former executive director at the Bank of England, is to rejoin the Bank to advise Mervyn King, the governor, on financial stability.
Chile holds rates at 5.75%
The Central Bank of Chile's policy board voted to keep its benchmark rate at 5.75% despite mounting concern over rising inflation.
Canada's Macklem to move to finance ministry
Tiff Macklem, a deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, is to move to the Department of Finance on 1 November.
Korea holds rates at highest level for six years
The Bank of Korea's rate-setting board decided to leave its benchmark rate at a six-year high of 5% on Thursday.
Japan holds rates at 0.5%
The Bank of Japan's rate-setting committee voted eight to one in favour of maintaining their benchmark rate at about 0.5% on Thursday.
South Africa hikes rates by 50 basis points
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) surprised markets on Thursday, pushing its benchmark rate up by half a percentage point to 10.5%.