Central Banks
Wolfowitz for World Bank, or Wolfensohn's son?
Reports this week said Paul Wolfowitz, US deputy secretary of defence, was a leading candidate to replace James Wolfensohn as the president of the World Bank. But the move seems unlikely following comments by Wolfensohn on Thursday 3 March.
St Louis Fed's Poole on pension systems
In a speech on 'Demographic challenges to state pension systems around the world' given on 24 February, William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said the United States must make "hard choices" if it is to fix its Social Security retirement…
ECB's Tumpel-Gugerell on collateral markets
In a speech on 'Integration and efficiency in collateral markets - a central bank perspective' given on 1 March, Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell of the ECB said the introduction of the euro six years ago has accelerated the integration process in the euro area…
BoE's Bell on real interest rates and inflation
In the speech 'A matter of no small interest: Real short-term interest rates and inflation since the 1990s' given on 2 March, Marian Bell of the Bank of England said the level of interest rates consistent with full employment and a stable economy has…
Fed's Gramlich on raising national saving
In a speech on 'The importance of raising national saving' given on 2 March, Edward Gramlich of the Federal Reserve said the United States would seem well-advised to minimize risks by raising its own national saving to finance its own investment.
Armenian central bank chief re-appointed
The Armenian parliament has endorsed the re-appointment of Tigran Sargsyan as chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia, Mediamax news agency reported on Wednesday 2 March.
The Bank should act soon
The Bank of England should act soon to raise interest rates, according to this article published on Friday 4 March by the Financial Times. With a general election expected in May, the Bank risks being accused of political motivations if it doesn't hike…
China needs flexible yuan, BOJ's Hirano says
China will adopt a more flexible currency as the nation overhauls its financial system and capital markets, said Eiji Hirano, a Bank of Japan executive director.
Fed study shows dollar fall could boost growth
A study by the Federal Reserve says a substantial fall in the value of the US dollar is likely to boost economic growth rather than cause an economic crisis.
Ex-Fed's Wyss says Asia should diversify reserves
Asian central banks need to diversify their foreign reserves but in doing so, they should allow the local currencies to appreciate against the dollar, a former US presidential economic adviser and Federal Reserve governor said on Thursday 3 March.
BOJ's Iwata: Deflation end needs 'one more stroke'
Kazumasa Iwata, one of the Bank of Japan's two deputy governors, said on Friday 4 March that the Japanese economy needs to improve by "one more stroke" to overcome deflation of almost seven years.
Italy's Fazio on Franco Modigliani
In a speech given on 18 February, Antonio Fazio of the Bank of Italy said the global system is a sort of free-banking regime without an anchor.
Phil Fed's Santomero: lessons from business cycle
In a speech on 'Lessons learned from the recent business cycle' given on 1 March, Anthony Santomero of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said the US economy is on track for moderate sustainable growth with relatively stable prices, but declining…
Chicago Fed's Moskow on the US labor market
In a speech on 'Job Loss: Causes, consequences, and policy responses' given on 1 March, Michael Moskow of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said at the moment, wage pressures within the US labor market are behaving as expected.
RBA's Lowe on reform of the payments system
In a speech on 'Reform of the payments system' given on 2 March, Philip Lowe of the Reserve Bank of Australia said the reform process has been going on for a number of years and we are not yet at the end of the road.
Greenspan promotes consumption tax idea
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in testimony on Thursday 3 March that some form of a consumption tax - such as a national sales tax - could spur greater economic growth but stressed a move to such a system would pose considerable problems.
ECB cuts eurozone growth forecast
The ECB on Thursday 3 March lowered its forecasts for growth of the eurozone economy this year and next . At a press conference Jean-Claude Trichet also criticised the recent decision by the Ecofin council of European finance ministers to give Greece…
China spends US$195b maintaining yuan peg
The People's Bank of China spent 1.61 trillion yuan (US$195 billion) buying foreign currency last year to maintain the yuan's peg with the dollar, a rise of 40 per cent over 2003.
BSP's Buenaventura on cornerstones of excellence
In the speech 'Strengthening the cornerstones of excellence' given on 10 January (published 25 Feb), Rafael Buenaventura of the Central Bank of the Philippines said when he turns over the reigns of leading the central bank in July this year, he is…
Asian central bankers affecting markets
The dollar's nearlythree-year decline has led many central banks to consider diversifying into other types of money, especially in the face of a more valuable euro. According to this article, the reaction to recent comments from South Korea serves as a…
RTGS & hybrid payment systems: a comparison
This Bank of England Working Paper published on Tuesday 1 March contrasts Real-Time Gross Settlement and hybrid payment systems that are based on payment offset, using a two-period, multi-bank model. It finds that hybrid payment systems outperform RTGS…
Greenspan stresses need for spending cuts
Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said on Wednesday 2 March that the US economy is growing at a reasonably good pace but the country must tackle its "unsustainable" budget deficits, primarily through spending cuts.