Central Banks
ECB opinion on new Executive Board member
At a meeting on Friday 18 March, the Governing Council of the ECB adopted an opinion on a recommendation from the Council of the European Union on the appointment of a new member of the Executive Board of the ECB.
The U.S. current account and the dollar
The dollar has further to fall, according to a recent paper by Professors Blanchard, Giavazzi and Sa of MIT, and an end to the Chinese peg might - contrary to conventional thinking - be bad for Europe, they argue.
Are Korea's rising foreign reserves bane or boon?
Korea's massive foreign reserves have sparked debate on the optimum level of reserves and the management of the currency supply. But according to this article, 'Are rising foreign reserves bane or boon?', the key question is not what level the central…
Stability pact showdown expected
A showdown may be in the offing regarding the EU's stability and growth pact. The EU summit in Brussels next week is expected to discuss reform of the 25-nation bloc's fiscal rules.
Bank of Korea not to alter dollar reserves- report
The Bank of Korea does not intend to alter the proportion of its foreign exchange reserves denominated in US dollars, although it will seek to maximise profit from its forex holdings by investing in a broader range of assets, the Wall Street Journal…
Ukraine to move to more flexible peg
Ukrainian Economy Minister Serhiy Teryokhin said the country plans to replace the hryvna's peg to the dollar with a more flexible exchange rate system that includes the euro.
ECB says Lithuanian mint on track for euros
Lithuania's mint meets the basic requirements for coining euros, the central bank said Thursday, citing the conclusions of a team of European Central Bank officials who visited the mint this week.
BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey - Final Results
The BIS published the final results of its 2004 Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity on Thursday 17 March, showing a substantial increase in turnover in the foreign exchange market and in the growth of…
Sweden's Heikensten on monetary policy
In a speech on 'Introduction on monetary policy' given on 15 March, Lars Heikensten of the Sveriges Riksbank told the government's finance committee that the board left interest rates unchanged because too much emphasis had recently been placed on the…
Bank of Canada Annual Report 2004
The Bank of Canada has published its Annual Report for 2004. In the report the Bank said a major challenge during 2004 was the strong appreciation in the value of the Canadian dollar.
IMF's Carstens on Latin America and global economy
In a speech on 'Latin America and the global economy: Prospects for growth and stability' given on 4 March, Agustin Carstens of the IMF said we are going through a phase of growth and expansion that is important in both size and geographical coverage.
How foreign reserves could make China yet stronger
This article says China's burgeoning foreign exchange reserves could provide an ideal remedy if the country's financial system is too fragile to sustain high growth levels in the long term. Up to $500 billion could be put into a social reconstruction…
IDB meeting to focus on trade and investment
The April 10-12 meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank, to be chaired by Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, will bring together finance ministers and central bank governors from its 46 member countries, officials said at a news…
OECD report says dollar fall not unexpected
Global growth is only expected to slow moderately this year despite volatility in oil prices, the OECD said on Thursday 17 March in its semi-annual Financial Market Trends report.
Taiwan cb deputy governor meets BoK's Park
Central Bank of China deputy governor Liang Fa-chin attended an international conference in South Korea, but did not discuss foreign exchange issues with Bank of Korea governor Park Seung, Economic Daily News reported, citing central bank governor Perng…
Former BOJ's Taya says current policy should stay
A former Bank of Japan policymaker told a press conference on Thursday 17 March that the central bank should adhere to its current "quantitative" credit-easing policy until Japan's economic recovery is achieved.
BOK to increase efficiency of reserve management
The Bank of Korea (BOK) said it will strengthen its manpower in the foreign currency asset management divisions to more effectively manage increasing foreign exchange reserves.
Norway's Gjedrem on dialogue without boundaries
In the introduction to the conference "Dialogue without boundaries" given on 9 March, Svein Gjedrem of Norges Bank said monetary policy's most important contribution is to provide the economy with a nominal anchor.
St Louis Fed's Central Banker, Spring 2005
The St. Louis Fed's Central Banker magazine for Spring 2005 has been published. The latest edition contains an article which reports that for the first time in history, Americans are favouring electronic payments in greater dollar amounts than checking…
ECB book on statistics and economic policy-making
The European Central Bank published a book entitled "Statistics and their use for monetary and economic policy-making" on 11 March. The book contains the proceedings of the second ECB conference on statistics held in Frankfurt am Main on 22 and 23 April…
Yellen on US economy and the banking sector
In the speech 'Thoughts on the economy and the banking sector' given on 14 March, Janet Yellen of the San Francisco Fed said that regulators are worried that some banks are not well-positioned for "alternative scenarios" on movement of the yield curve or…
Norges Bank Inflation Report, March 2005
Norway's central bank, Norges Bank, published its latest Inflation Report for March 2005 on Wednesday 16 March. The report said growth in the Norwegian economy has become more self-driven with the main driving forces being private consumption combined…
ECB's E-payments in Europe conference summary
The European Central Bank held a conference on "E-payments without frontiers" on 10 November 2004. A detailed summary of the event was published by the ECB on Tuesday 15 March, together with documentation of the individual presentations by speakers.