Central Banks
Trichet maintains expectations of rate hike
Speaking at the post-meeting press conference on Thursday 2 November European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet endorsed market expectations of a further ECB interest rate hike at its December meeting.
Acid blamed for crumbling German banknotes
German authorities revealed Thursday 2 November that more than 1,000 German banknotes have mysteriously disintegrated in recent months, possibly due to acid on the brittle notes.
Statistics bureau head joins PBOC committee
China's State Council has appointed Xie Fuzhan, the director of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as a member of the central bank's monetary policy committee, the official China Securities Journal reported Thursday 2 November.
Bond markets as conduits for capital flows
The IMF Working Paper "Bond markets as conduits for capital flows: How does Asia compare?" finds that Europe is more financially integrated than other regions, while Asia already seems to have made more progress on this front than Latin America and other…
PBOC advisor plays down dollar risk to reserves
A senior People's Bank of China advisor has tried to calm fears over risks posed to the country's huge stock of dollar reserves by a slide in the value of the US currency.
ECB's Bini Smaghi on monetary, financial stability
In the speech 'Monetary and financial stability: Challenges in South-Eastern Europe' given on 30 October Lorenzo Bini Smaghi of the ECB said financial sector reforms in China and other emerging Asian economies can play a key role in reducing their large…
Who wants to be a trillionaire?
According to this article from The Economist, published Thursday 26 October, China's foreign-exchange reserves are likely to top $1 trillion as October ends, but what to do with the money poses many problems.
Interview with Dallas Fed's Richard Fisher
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas president Richard Fisher told Reuters in an interview published Monday 30 October that after a weak third quarter the US economy seems to be recovering.
Researcher says China should diversify reserves
A China-based researcher said in an interview published in the overseas edition of the People's Daily on Monday 30 October that China urgently needs to improve the management of its foreign exchange reserves by diversifying the holding to include natural…
Nov rate hike is 'not a done deal' says BoE's King
Mervyn King, the Bank of England's governor, told the House of Lords on Tuesday 31 October that speculation of another interest rate hike in November is not a "done deal".
Japan's Next-Generation RTGS
This paper from the Bank of Japan's Payment and Settlement Systems Department provides an overview of the RTGS project and discusses how it is expected to enhance the safety and efficiency of the settlement mechanism for large-value payments in Japan.
Interview with Bank of Lebanon's Riad Salame
In an interview published Monday 30 October on the mmorning.com website, Bank of Lebanon governor Riad Salame talks about the challenges he has faced during the 13 years of his mandate.
Central banks facing effects of money glut
According to this article published Monday 30 October by Bloomberg News, central bankers may have new asset bubbles and inflation risks on their hands without further tightening.
UAE considers reserves options
The UAE's central bank might cut its dollar holdings by anything up to 50% and is looking at the yen, euro and sterling as alternatives, the central bank governor said. It was also announced that Bahrain and the UAE would compete to host the GCC central…
New UK £20 'has raft of anti-fraud measures'
The Bank of England unveiled a new £20 banknote featuring the image of economist Adam Smith on Monday 30 October with a raft of improved anti-counterfeiting measures.
Sweden's Ingves on monetary policy
In the speech 'Introduction on monetary policy' given on 26 October Stefan Ingves of the Sveriges Riksbank said little by little economic activity in Sweden will enter a calmer phase.
Brazil's COPOM committee says inflation 'benign'
Brazil's central bank said in minutes from its last COPOM meeting released Thursday 26 October that inflation remains under control, paving the way for more interest rate reductions.
Nigeria's Soludo 'pressured' on foreign reserves
The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo, has said he is under pressure from politicians to use the central bank's foreign reserves.
Plundering China's reserves
According to this article published Friday 27 October by The Wall Street Journal, with China's foreign-exchange reserves now close to the trillion dollar mark, calls to spend the money are coming fast and furious.
ECB's Bini Smaghi on monetary tightening
In the speech 'Three questions on monetary tightening' given on 26 October Lorenzo Bini Smaghi of the ECB said central banks face a difficult task in deciding when to stop tightening monetary policy.
Trichet on the ECB's Annual Report 2005
In a presentation of the ECB's Annual Report 2005 to the European Parliament on 26 October Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said reiterated that further tightening of ECB monetary policy will be warranted if the eurozone recovery continues in line with its…
Afghanistan's Delawari notes success on inflation
In an interview with Afghan state-run newspaper Anis, published Thursday 26 October, the acting president of Afghanistan's central bank said the central bank has been successful in keeping the value of afghani stable against foreign currencies and in…
RBNZ holds rates unchanged, Sweden hikes
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left its official cash rate unchanged at 7.25 pct on Thursday 26 October reflecting slowing economic growth. Swedish interest rates were raised in a widely expected move.
Kenya launches automated trading systems of NSE
President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya has said the automation of the trading system will create more confidence in the country's capital markets and enable the government and the private sector to access long-term financial resources.