Central Banks
Iraq seeking $40bn GCC debt relief
Iraq's central bank chief has said he hopes the Gulf GCC countries will follow the example of other states and give Iraq 'generous treatment' over debt cancellation.
So much forex reserve, is it a blessing?
After recent figures showed China is not far behind Japan, the world's largest holder of foreign exchange reserves, this article published on Thursday 26 January asks: is it a blessing to have such an enormous forex reserve?
Bank of Canada Monetary Policy Report Update
The Bank of Canada released its January 2006 Monetary Policy Report Update on 26 January. The Canadian and world economies are evolving essentially in line with the Bank's expectations, and the outlook for growth and inflation in Canada is similar to…
RBI's Reddy on the role of accountants
In the speech 'Role of accountants in fostering economic growth' given on 19 January Dr YV Reddy of the Reserve Bank of India said the relationship between the RBI and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has been mutually reinforcing, where…
Greenspan receives Dept of Defense medal
Outgoing Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, was presented with the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service by US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Monday 23 January.
Report says CB gold sales won't meet quota
HSBC analyst Alan Williamson told Dow Jones on Friday 27 January that European central banks are highly unlikely to sell the total 2,500 tons of gold allowed under the current agreement.
Takeuchi to join BOJ board - report
World Bank economist Sawako Takeuchi has been named as the likely replacement for Miyako Suda on the Bank of Japan's board.
Slovakia's Sramko named central banker of 2006
The governor of the Central Bank of Slovakia, Ivan Sramko, has been named as The Banker magazine's its Central Banker of the Year for 2006.
Zhou says dollar weighting less than 50%
The weighting of the dollar in China's currency basket used as a reference to value the yuan is "much less than 50 percent," according to the People's Bank of China governor.
Report says Greenspan to set up consulting firm
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan plans to establish a consulting firm called Greenspan Associates in Washington after he leaves the central bank at the end of the month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday 26 January.
Hunt on for 'radioactive dollars' in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is currently hunting for dozens of "radioactive dollars" circulating in the country's financial system.
BoE's Gieve: Oil prices should not impact on rates
John Gieve, the new deputy governor of the Bank of England, on Thursday 26 January rejected suggestions that UK interest rates should rise simply because of very high energy costs.
IMF paper: Vanishing contagion?
This IMF Paper, published January 2006, says that while a number of emerging market crises were characterized by widespread contagion during the 1990s, more recent crises have been mostly contained within national borders.
RBNZ holds OCR unchanged at 7.25 per cent
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced on Thursday 26 January that the Official Cash Rate (OCR) will remain unchanged at 7.25 per cent.
IMF's Rato names Director of External Relations
Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the IMF, on Wednesday 25 January informed the 24-member Executive Board of his intention to name Mr. Masood Ahmed as Director of the IMF's External Relations Department.
Comment: The Old Lady's new deputy
The Bank of England's new deputy governor for financial stability, Sir John Gieve, appeared yesterday before the Treasury Committee of the House of Commons for his appointment hearing.
NY Fed's Geithner on global imbalances
In the speech 'Policy implications of global imbalances' given on 23 January Timothy Geithner of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said the massive and growing U.S. current account deficit presents a threat to the world economy and an eventual…
Russia's Tulin set to leave central bank
Dmitry Tulin, a deputy chairman at the Central Bank of Russia, will leave his post on 1 February and join auditing company Deloitte and Touche.
Iran clarifies rumours on reserves shift, gold
Mohammad-Jaafar Mojarrad, Iran's central bank vice-governor, told the Financial Times on Tuesday that Tehran had withdrawn foreign reserves from Italian banks but not from other parts of Europe.
Bank of England voted 8-1 to hold rates
Minutes of the Bank of England's last Monetary Policy Committee meeting, released Wednesday 25 January, showed that only dovish Stephen Nickell wanted to lower UK interest rates a quarter-point.
BOJ minutes show reluctance for price target
According to minutes from the Bank of Japan board's December meeting released on Wednesday 25 January, some members of the BOJ's policy board felt it would be hard to set a desirable rate of inflation.
Z$50 000 bank note coming to Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's inflation ravaged citizens will soon have a new Z$50 000 bank note to make shopping easier, central bank governor Gideon Gono announced on Tuesday 24 January.
Merrill Lynch hires former NY Fed chief
William McDonough, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, has joined Wall Street investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co. as vice chairman and special adviser to the chairman on business development, the company said Monday 23 January.
PBOC will make better use of yuan band
China intends to use of the yuan's six-month old trading band in a better way, rather than doing another one-off revaluation, a senior Chinese central banker said on Wednesday 25 Janaury.