Central Banks
Brazil's Meirelles faces fraud probe
Brazil's Supreme Court has authorised a criminal investigation against Henrique Meirelles, the country's central bank chief, over alleged tax fraud and misdemeanours against the financial system.
Mervyn King and the invisible hand
Bank of England governor Mervyn King delivered a speech this week in which he revealed his "Maradona theory of interest rates" based on the Argentine legend's second goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final.
New book covers history of the BIS
A new book, covering the history of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) from 1930 to 1973, was published on Tuesday 17 May.
Bank of Canada issues upgraded $10 bank note
The Bank of Canada put into circulation an upgraded $10 bank note with enhanced security features on Wednesday 18 May.
Fed's Kohn on modeling inflation
In a speech on 'Modeling inflation: A policymaker's perspective' given on 20 May, Donald Kohn of the Federal Reserve called for improvements in inflation modeling, saying an increase in core US inflation in 2004 and 2005 caught him and many other…
BoJ's Fukui says board split 7-2 on target cut
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui said on Friday 20 May that the BoJ's policy board vote was spilt 7-2 on maintaining the liquidity target at 30-35 trln yen. "Two members thought the target ought to be lowered," Fukui told a press conference.
Hungary bank chief says forint can weaken
Hungary's forint can weaken by "a few percentage points" without sparking an inflation rise, deputy central bank governor Gyorgy Szapary said in an interview.
Rato says US deficit weighing on world economy
The International Monetary Fund's forecast for global economic growth this year remains unchanged at 4.3 per cent although the US current account deficit is still weighing on the world economy, IMF chief Rodrigo Rato said on Thursday.
IBM transforms Bank of Korea's forex system
A major software giant has said it has completed the transformation of the Bank of Korea's foreign exchange asset management system for foreign exchange reserves.
Treasury envoy to press China on peg system
The US Treasury has appointed a special envoy on China who will have an enlarged mandate to engage China on its exchange rate, which has been pegged to the dollar for the past decade.
NRB governor elected to ACU president
The governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), Bijaya Nath Bhattarai was elected president of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) at its 34th annual meeting in Lahore this week.
ECB's Papademos on monetary stability, integration
In the speech 'Monetary stability and financial integration in Europe' given on 9 May Lucas Papademos of the ECB said the ECB is committed to, and will continue to support, the process of structural reform in financial markets, as well as in labour and…
Sweden's Srejber on supervisory responsibility
In the speech 'The divorce between macro financial stability and micro supervisory responsibility: are we now in for a more stable life?' given on 13 May Eva Srejber of the Sveriges Riksbank said she finds it hard to see how, in the long run, the EU…
IMF's Krueger on the future of Turkey's economy
In the speech 'Turkey's economy: A future full of promise' given on 5 May Anne Krueger of the IMF said the need for structural reform is never-ending in the modern global economy and this is true here in Turkey as elsewhere.
China rejects calls for currency change
Chinese officials have rejected both Washington's demand that China loosen its fixed exchange rate policy and Europe's threat of quotas on a tide of Chinese textiles.
Turkey, Kyrgyzstan agree to cooperate
The Turkish Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) signed an agreement with the Central Bank of Kyrgyzstan, the agency said on Wednesday 18 May.
South Korea to continue currency intervention
South Korea's minister of finance and economy on Thursday 19 May denied a news report that the government has decided not to intervene in currency markets.
Malaysia to maintain currency peg
Malaysia will maintain its seven-year-old currency peg to the US dollar and has no plans to impose measures to curb the flow of speculative funds into the economy, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Thursday 19 May.
Hong Kong loosens its dollar's 22-year peg
Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief Joseph Yam said on Thursday 19 May that a decision to loosen the Hong Kong dollar's 22-year peg to the US dollar won't encourage banks to raise interest rates sharply and hurt businesses.
Fed's Greenspan on government-sponsored enterprise
In the speech 'Government-sponsored enterprises' given on 19 May Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve levelled criticisms at the two mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Hong Kong's Pang on the Asian Bond Fund
In a speech given on 5 May, Peter Pang said the Asian Bond Fund project will bring about many benefits. First, it introduces and promotes new fixed-income products to the Asian markets.
Dutch Paper on ECB support for the euro
The De Nederlandsche Bank Working Paper "Were verbal efforts to support the euro effective? A high-frequency analysis of ECB statements" published in April 2005 studies the effects of verbal interventions by European central bankers on high-frequency…