Central Banks
Koizumi supports Japan's zero rates
Japanese five-year notes rose for a second day on Wednesday 30 June after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said conditions are not yet right for the Bank of Japan to end its policy of keeping interest rates close to zero.
St Louis Fed's Central Banker, Summer 2004
The Summer 2004 edition of the St. Louis Fed's Central Banker magazine has been published. The latest issue carries an article "The FACT Act Helps Bankers Mitigate Risks" which says approximately half of all identity-theft claims in the Eighth District…
Canada's Dodge on the changing world economy
In a speech on 'The Changing World Economy: What It Means for Canada' given on 16 June, David Dodge of the Bank of Canada said the Canadian economy is well placed to adjust to the major changes underway in the world economy. While Canada has adopted the…
Czech National Bank - Annual Report 2003
The Czech National Bank has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. Analyses revealed that the extraordinarily low inflation rate was due not to the CNB's monetary policy, but mainly to a combination of several unusual and difficult-to…
Euro central rates & compulsory intervention rates
Further to the decisions taken on 27 June 2004 on the euro central rates in ERM II for the Estonian kroon, the Lithuanian litas and the Slovenian tolar, the compulsory intervention rates for these currencies have been established with effect from 28 June…
Three new currencies included in ERM II
At the request of the Estonian, Lithuanian and Slovenian authorities, the ministers of the euro area Member States of the European Union, the President of the European Central Bank and the ministers and the central bank governors of Denmark and Estonia…
New version of the ECB's website
The European Central Bank (ECB) launched a new version of its website (www.ecb.int) on Saturday, 26 June. The site's design has been modernised and the contents restructured in order to make it more user-friendly, the ECB said.
Bank of Zambia implements Perago RTGS network
The Bank of Zambia has implemented an electronic funds transfer system supplied by Perago Financial System Enablers, according to FinExtra, to align the national banking industry with international standards for real-time gross settlement (RTGS).
Fed set to begin 'measured' rate-rise campaign
Federal Reserve officials are set to raise interest rates on Tuesday 29 June for the first time in four years -- the first step in what they have said will be a "measured" campaign to keep inflation under control as the US economy strengthens.
Safety features for credit derivatives
Alan Greenspan is right (and Warren Buffett wrong) about the benefits of credit derivatives. However, argue Ian Marsh and Wolf Wagner, certain safety features need to be in place.
RBI's Reddy on capital account liberalisation
In the speech 'Remarks on capital account liberalisation and capital controls' given at the Central Bank Governors Symposium convened by the Bank of England on 25 June Dr YV Reddy of the Reserve Bank of India said caution is needed in moving forward with…
G10 central bank governors endorse Basel II
Central bank governors and the heads of bank supervisory authorities in the Group of Ten (G10) countries met on 26 June and endorsed the publication of the International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards: a Revised Framework, the…
BIS - Annual Report 2003/ 2004
The Bank for International Settlements has published its Annual Report for the year ended April 2003 - March 2004. The recovery in the advanced industrial countries firmed in 2003, with the support of substantial policy stimulus in the United States and…
Knight: Activities of the BIS- 2003-2004 in review
In a speech on the occasion of the BIS Annual General Meeting on 28 June Malcolm Knight of the BIS said the implementation of Basel II will start in the member countries of the Basel Committee as from the end of 2006, with the most advanced measurement…
Evolution and procedures in central banking
The papers in this volume "Evolution and Procedures in Central Banking" were presented at the Cleveland Fed Central Bank Institute's first conference. The articles and discussants' comments in this volume largely focus on two questions: the need for…
Bank of England Financial Stability Review, Jun 04
The Bank of England published its latest Financial Stability Review for June 2004 on Monday 28 June. It contains the Bank's regular half-yearly review of risks to financial stability and measures taken to strengthen the financial infrastructure, together…
PBOC's Zhou says China managing to slow economy
China's central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said Sunday that progress in efforts to cool the country's booming economy has been satisfactory but he could take additional measures if they yielded few results.
ECB's Garganas: Eurozone recovery continuing
The euro zone economy is recovering as expected and the drop in German June business sentiment is not a concern, European Central Bank Governing Council Member Nicolas Garganas said on Sunday.
Buenaventura: Politics putting pressure on peso
The Philippine currency is two to three pesos lower in value against the US dollar than it should be due to political uncertainty, central bank chief Rafael Buenaventura said Monday.
Banks taking on 'tenuous' risks - BIS
Banks worldwide may be taking on risks they will regret later if an economic upturn proves short-lived, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said on Monday.
Krueger on the IMF at 60: What role for the future
In a speech on 'The IMF at 60: What Role for the Future?' given on 24 June, Anne Krueger of the IMF said if the IMF didn't already exist, it would pretty quickly have to be invented. Though the world is different from that known to the Bretton Woods…
Fed's Gramlich on reducing budget deficits
In a speechon 'Reducing budget deficits' given on 24 June, Edward Gramlich of the Federal Reserve said the United States must reduce its budget deficits and enforce a tighter fiscal policy to ensure the long-run health of the economy.
Welteke settles for €25,000 fine
Ernst Welteke has agreed to pay 25,000 euros ($30,000)to charity to end a criminal probe into his conduct. Last week we reported his lawyers had rejected a demand of 50,000 euros saying the sum was "much too high".