Central Banks
Comment: Sweden sheds reserve dollars
The Swedish Riksbank dropped a bit of a bombshell on international currency markets on Friday 21 April by announcing a significant reduction in the share of dollars and yen in its foreign reserves portfolio. Although Sweden has a relatively small…
BoJ overpays on travel expenses
The Bank of Japan has paid overstated amounts of domestic travel expenses claimed by some of its personnel and has been told by the Board of Audit of Japan to correct the problem, Jiji Press reported Thursday 20 April.
MEPs criticise ECB appointment
Following the approval of Jurgen Stark's nomination to the ECB's board by the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Wednesday 19 April, some centre-left MEPs have criticised the go-ahead.
Padoa-Schioppa 'serious' candidate for econ min
Romano Prodi, Italy's election winner, said on Friday 21 April that former European Central Bank board member Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa was a "serious" candidate to become his economy minister, but that nothing had been decided yet.
Comment: Transparent monetary policy
The "transparency revolution" in modern monetary policy is little over a decade old. Just recently, some commentators have started to ask whether this development can go too far. Although it certainly could in theory, it probably hasn't yet.
Portrait of Matti Vanhala unveiled
A portrait of the late Governor of the Bank of Finland was unveiled at the Bank recently.
FOMC minutes suggest end to rate rises
According to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's meeting on 27-28 March released on Tuesday 18 April, policy-makers felt that the U.S. central bank was nearly finished raising interest rates, but remained worried about potential inflation risks.
Fed to consolidate payments system committees
The Federal Reserve Board announced on Wednesday 19 April the consolidation of two internal advisory committees on payments system matters.
Bank of England voted 7-1 to hold rates
Minutes released on Wednesday 19 April showed that the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted 7 to 1 at its meeting on April 6 to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.5 per cent.
Ferguson on financial stability & central banking
In the speech 'Thoughts on financial stability and central banking' given on 17 April Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said asset price volatility may have increased in recent years as real economic shocks have moderated, but central banks should…
Italy's Prodi may pick Padoa-Schioppa on economy
Italy's centre-left leader Romano Prodi is expected to pick former European Central Bank board member Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa as economy minister, if Prodi succeeds in forming a government, said La Stampa Saturday in an unsourced report.
Turkey names new central bank governor
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer approved the government's nominee for central bank governor on Tuesday 18 April after rejecting an earlier candidate, Economy minister Ali Babacan announced.
BoJ minutes show govt urged zero rates
The Bank of Japan was urged by the government to keep interest rates at zero when it ended its ultra-easy monetary policy last month, but the BoJ noted the risks of policy becoming too accommodative, minutes released Friday 14 April showed.
European Parliament backs Stark nomination for ECB
European Central Bank nominee Juergen Stark said on Tuesday 18 April that the euro zone central bank needs to show ``great vigilance'' in curbing inflation.
China short-term gold additions unlikely - GFMS
The People's Bank of China is very unlikely to increase its gold reserves in the short-term but in the medium- to long-term there is "excellent scope" for gold purchases by the central bank, metals consultancy GFMS said on Wednesday12 April.
Forget ECB rows and secret pacts, it's the data
According to this article published Wednesday 12 April, although conspiracy theories abound to explain why the European Central Bank has dampened expectations of a May interest rate rise, the answer is simple - hard economic data.
More hefty gains in gold price ahead?
This article published on Thursday 13 April looks at the possibility of a further strong increase in the gold price. Among the key factors is a belief that central banks are becoming more friendly to gold, it says.
RBI seen taking a hard line on rates
According to this article published Thursday 13 April, the Reserve Bank of India's stand in January makes analysts believe it will keep its own counsel and raise rates again at its annual monetary statement on Tuesday.
IMF Global Financial Stability Report, April 2006
The International Monetary Fund published its Global Financial Stability Report for April 2006 on 11 April. World financial markets have strengthened but cyclical challenges are emerging from the prospect of higher interest rates and an unwinding of…
Fed policy makers behind closed doors
This article published on Wednesday 12 April looks at the recently published transcripts of minutes from the FOMC meetings in 2000. Behind the scenes, our central bankers and their advisers let their hair down a bit, it says.
Russia signs agreement on reserve management
The Central Bank of Russia is implementing treasury and asset management software from London-based Trema to support its reserve management operations.
Comment: The IMF's Global FSR
The IMF yesterday unveiled its latest Global Financial Stability Report at the Bank of England head office in London. "The near-term outlook is as good as it gets," Gerd Hausler, director of the IMF's capital markets unit, said at the press conference.
China dollar reserves pose risk - report
China's foreign exchange reserves are exposed to heavy risks of US dollar fluctuations but there are no other alternatives now that can replace the greenback, a researcher said in an article published in the China Business News.
Will IMF set sights on managing global reserves?
This article published on Saturday 8 April says that some indication of the IMF medium-term strategy report's likely content can be gleaned from a series of speeches given over the past two months by de Rato, and deputy managing directors Takatoshi Kato…