Central Banks
Bank of England maintains interest rates at 3.75%
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted to maintain the Bank's repo rate at 3.75% on 4 December. The minutes of the meeting will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 17 December.
ECB monetary policy decision
At Thursday's meeting the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the minimum bid rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 2.00%, 3.00% and 1.00%…
RBNZ leaves OCR unchanged
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand decided to leave the Official Cash Rate unchanged at 5.0 per cent on 4 November.
BGN 100 banknote introduced in Sofia
The governor of the National Bank of Bulgaria Ivan Iskrov introduced the first BGN 100 banknote in Sofia on Wednesday 3 december, according to a report by Sofia Morning News, with deputy governor Tsvetan Manchev explaining that the note will make cash…
BOK opens up office in Beijing
The Bank of Korea said on Thursday 4 December thatit has opened a new office in Beijing, reports Chosun Ilbo. The BOK said it was the first foreign central bank to open an office there.
ECB has no comment on EU currency controls report
The ECB declined to comment, according to Reuters, on a newspaper report on Thursday 4 December that the EC is looking at the legal issues surrounding exchange controls to prevent a damaging rise in the euro. The report said Brussels could lawfully…
Germany works to reduce budget deficit
The German government forecast on Wednesday 3 December that its budget deficit will drop back to 2.5 percent in 2005, according to a report by Associated Press. But it reaffirmed Hans Eichel's position that Germany isn't prepared to implement extra…
Economic recovery has started in Eurozone: Trichet
The ECB left interest rates unchanged on Thursday 4 Decemberat its last meeting scheduled for this year, reports AFP. Speaking at a press conference following the meeting of the ECB rate-setting council, President Jean-Claude Trichet said economic…
Fed's Poole: Monetary Policymaker's Perspective
In a speech on 'A Monetary Policymaker's Perspective' given on 21 November, William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said a theme running through the Monetary History is role of inflation in the business cycle. The Federal Reserve has…
Atlanta Fed's Guynn on growth through balance
In a speech on 'Growth Through Balance' given on 6 Novembe, Jack Guynn of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said the key to sustainable economic growth, as with building a winning baseball team, is balance. You can't win in the big leagues with a…
Sweden's Heikensten on euro entry reforms
In a speech on 'Euro entry before reforms or reforms before euro entry?' given on 21 November, Lars Heikensten of the Sveriges Riksbank said his advice would be to put your house in order first, and only after that enter ERM II and begin a quick process…
France, Germany 'killed' stability pact: EU Monti
European Competition Commissioner Mario Monti has criticised France and Germany, according to a report by EU Business. "The parents of the Stability and Growth Pact (France and Germany) in the past forbade any person or institution from expressing any…
BoE likely to pause after recent rate rise
The Bank of England is expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Thursday 4 December, AFP reports, after raising them last month. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee began its two- day meeting on Wednesday 3 December.
Hungary's PM stands by 250-260 forint rate for ERM
Hungary's prime minister Peter Medgyessy has said that the central bank and finance ministry are jointly working towards a target of HUF 250-260 to the euro as an appropriate rate to enter the euro, according to Interfax-Europe.
Russia may float currency rates in future
Russia's central bank first deputy Oleg Vyugin said on Tuesday 2 December that it will be two years, at the earliest, before Russia can switch to floating currency rates, according to a report by UPI "We must see whether it is effective, evaluate…
Reserve Bank of Australia lifts interest rate
Australia's Reserve Bank has again raised official interest rates, according to ABC Australia Radio News, taking them to their highest level in more than two and a half years. The RBA said in a statement released on Wednesday 3 December that the domestic…
RBI groups call for amendment to RBI Act
The Reserve Bank of India's working group have suggested amendments to the RBI Act (1934), according to The Financial Express. The group suggested flotation of interest-bearing deposits as an option, whereby the central bank pays interest on deposits…
Buba warns of tensions between ECB, politicians
Deputy chief of the Bundesbank, Juergen Stark, warned on Tuesday 2 December that the stability and growth pact dispute could lead to increased tensions between politicians and the European Central Bank, according to a report by EU Business. "Further…
RBNZ appoints 'fresh' face to advisory role
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has appointed Terry McFadgen as a part-time monetary policy advisor. The RBNZ employs two people as external advisors (the other advisor is Malcolm Bailey) to bring an outside perspective to decision making processes. The…
RBA gets new Assistant Governor, Business Services
The Reserve Bank of Australia has appointed a new assistant governor for business services. The RBA said Dr Bob Rankin would begin the position in January, when current assistant governor Geoff Board moved to head the bank's European Representative…
Banknotes and the glass of water test
Le Duc Thuy, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, had a novel way of proving the durability of Vietnam's new 500,000 dong Australian-made polymer-based banknotes by dipping one specimen into a glass of water to demonstrate, Reuters reports. "People…