Central Banks
Brazil's Lula considers central bank changes
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is preparing to order changes in the board of directors of the country's central bank, Dow Jones reported Thursday 22 February.
BoC's Jenkins on the Bank of Canada Act
In a speech given on 20 February Paul Jenkins of the Bank of Canada said in terms of openness and transparency, in many ways, the importance of these issues goes to the heart of our main responsibility: the conduct of monetary policy.
Bank of Japan to keep 'accommodative' policy
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui said Wednesday 21 February it will maintain its "accommodative" monetary policy for some time, after voting to raise interest rates.
Minutes show 7-2 split on BoE rate vote
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted by a 7-to-2 margin to keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 5.25 pct at its meeting earlier this month, minutes showed Wednesday 21 February.
SNB's Roth says rates not high enough yet
Swiss National Bank (SNB) chairman Jean-Pierre Roth said in an interview published Wednesday 21 February that Switzerland's current interest rate level is still not high enough to guarantee price stability in the medium-term.
Russia reiterates reserve diversification idea
The Russian central bank remains interested in further diversification of the currency structure of its gold and forex exchange reserves, its first deputy chairman said in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday 21 February.
Brazil will add reserves while liquidity high
Brazil's policy of increasing foreign reserves should continue as long as global imbalances support a steady flow of dollars into the country, central bank director Paulo Vieira da Cunha told analysts in New York.
Omi says BoJ should support growth
Japanese finance minister Koji Omi told parliament on Tuesday 20 February that the Bank of Japan's monetary policy should support economic growth, as it prepares to start a two- day meeting to decide interest rates.
ECB's Tumpel-Gugerell still sees SEPA from Jan 08
European Central Bank board member Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell said Tuesday 20 February the plan for a single euro payments area (SEPA) is still on track to begin operations from 1 Jan next year, despite disputes over organising cross-border operations.
PBOC raises bank reserve requirement again
The People's Bank of China said Friday 16 February it has raised bank reserve requirements, with effect from 25 February.
Sveriges Riksbank Monetary Policy Report, No. 1 07
Sweden's central bank, the Sveriges Riksbank, published its First Monetary Policy Report for 2007 on 15 February. According to the report, formerly known as the Inflation Report, inflation is currently low, as is the rate of wage increase and cost…
Abilov appointed head of Turkmenistan CB
Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov signed a decree on the appointment of Geldymurad Abilov chairman of the Central Bank of Turkmenistan on Thursday 15 February.
Deloitte chief nominated to Hungary's central bank
Hungarian prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany on Friday 16 February nominated Andras Simor, chief of the Hungarian arm of auditing and consulting giant Deloitte, as be new governor of the central bank.
Sweden's Riksbank appoints new head of IT
The Executive Board of the Sveriges Riksbank appointed Hans Ohlson as new head of the IT Department on Friday 16 February. Mr Ohlson will take up this post on 15 May.
Fed's Poole says no reason to change rates now
St Louis Federal Reserve president William Poole said on Thursday 15 February that there was no reason at the moment for the U.S. central bank to change interest rates.
RBNZ appoints deputy governor
Grant Spencer has been appointed deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, RBNZ governor Alan Bollard announced Friday 16 February.
ECB paper on market responses to policy decisions
The ECB Working Paper "Using intraday data to gauge financial market responses to Fed and ECB monetary policy decisions" examines bond and stock market volatility reactions in the euro area and the US following their respective economies' monetary policy…
Reports say Brazil's Meirelles will keep job
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ruled out the possibility of replacing central bank chief Henrique Meirelles, according to media reports Wednesday 14 February.
Tumpel-Gugerell on the ECB's view on SEPA
In the speech 'The European Central Bank's view on SEPA' given on 13 February Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell of the ECB said the aim of SEPA is to complete the introduction of the euro as the single currency and to support European integration.
Bernanke on the semiannual monetary policy report
In testimony to Congress given on 14 February Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said the Fed was still debating how to improve its communication skills, and insisted that there was yet room for improvement.
Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Report, Feb 2007
The Federal Reserve published its February 2007 Monetary Policy Report to the Congress on Wednesday 14 February. Ben Bernanke told Congress that the US economy should grow modestly this year and he maintained the Fed's forecast that inflation will…
RBA's Battellino appointed deputy governor
The Australian government appointed Ric Battellino as deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia on Wednesday 14 February for a five-year term.
BoC sees room to improve central bank committees
This article from Reuters, published Monday 12 February, looks at the recent paper "Monetary Policy Committees in Action: Is There Room for Improvement?" noting that central banks have shifted away from the "dictatorial" governor as decision maker, in…