Central Banks
Belgium against German plans on stability pact
In an interview published Thursday Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt voiced his opposition to German plans on how to reform the rules governing the euro.
Estonians to vote on euro coin design
Estonians will have a chance to decide the appearance of the national side of their euro coins by a week-long telephone vote, due to start this weekend, the Bank of Estonia said Thursday 2 December.
Brazil minister calls for relaxed monetary policy
Brazil's Development, Trade and Industry Minister Luiz Fernando Furlan criticised the central bank's conservative monetary policy and expressed concerns over the impact on the economy of the strengthening of the real against the dollar, AFX News said.
RBA Payments System Board Annual Report 2004
The Reserve Bank of Australia Payments System Board has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2004. Over the past couple of years the Board's work in relation to the safety and stability of the payments system has focussed on the development of…
ECB's Tumpel-Gugerell on financial integration
In a speech on 'Capital Markets and Financial Integration in Europe' given on 23 November, Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell of the ECB said market-led initiatives are vital to make further progress in integrating the funding instruments for mortgages.
SNB's Roth on the Swiss franc and euro
In a speech on the ' Swiss franc and euro: Two sister currencies?' given on 19 November Jean-Pierre Roth of the Swiss National Bank said the introduction of the euro in 1999 constituted a real revolution for Europe and represented arguably the major…
Second high-level central bank seminar in Rio
The Second High-Level Seminar of the Eurosystem and Latin American Central Banks took place on Friday 26 November in Rio de Janeiro. The Seminar was hosted by the Banco Central do Brasil and jointly organised together with the European Central Bank and…
Trichet testimony: Oil price to dampen growth
In testimony to the European Parliament given on 30 November Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB signalled that the bank is likely to lower its forecast for 2005 economic growth in the euro zone as the increase in oil prices impacts on consumer spending and…
No ECB comment on intervention talk
The European Central Bank declined to comment on reports coming out of Tokyo suggesting possible joint action with Japan on the foreign exchange market, AFX News said.
Cape Verde considers adopting euro currency
Cape Verde is considering adopting the euro as its own currency, the prime minister of the west African island state, Cape Verde's Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves was quoted as saying by AFP.
Hungary's Central Bank Act returned to parliament
The President of Hungary, Ferenc Madl, failed to sign on Monday 29 November the modifications to the Central Bank Act passed by parliament last week, Interfax-Europe reports. Instead, the president sent the law back to parliament for further…
NBP chief: Ukraine situation not to affect Poland
The possible crisis of the Ukrainian economy caused by the tense political situation in that country will not harm the Polish economy, President of the National Bank of Poland (NBP) Leszek Balcerowicz told a press conference on Wednesday 1 December.
Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report, October 2004
The Deutsche Bundesbank's October 2004 Monthly Report said the stability of the German financial system has strengthened further since the end of last year. This was assisted, the report says, by the rapid brightening of the macroeconomic climate in the…
BoE's King says UK growth 'a little stronger'
Bank of England Governor Mervyn King told the Treasury Committee on Tuesday 30 November that economic growth in the UK will probably pick up in the fourth quarter and remain at a rate that will bolster inflation in the next two years.
OECD Economic Outlook, November 2004
The OECD's Economic Outlook for November 2004 reports that sharp rises in oil prices have slowed the global expansion, but barring further increases, the world's major economies should regain momentum in 2005.
Meirelles says Brazil has sufficient reserves
The central bank of Brazil is in no rush to buy dollars because its foreign reserve level is sufficient, bank President Henrique Meirelles said.
Poland's PM says zloty may `kill' exports
Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka said in an interview that economic growth may slow because interest rates are at a 19-month high and a rising zloty threatens to "kill" exports.
Norges Bank Financial Stability Report No.2, 2004
The central bank of Norway, Norges Bank, has published its twice yearly Financial Stability Report 2/2004. "The short-term outlook for financial stability is regarded as satisfactory and somewhat improved compared with the situation six months ago," said…
The role of central bank capital
A new ECB paper argues that central banks hold adequate capital. Paul Brione assesses the argument for CentralBankNet.
Revisions to Fed's payments systems risk policy
The Federal Reserve Board announced on Friday 26 November the approval of proposed revisions to its Policy on Payments System Risk (PSR Policy) addressing risk management in payments and securities settlement systems.
The RBNZ's website is changing
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand said on Monday 29 November that it it is making some changes to its website in early December. The site will have a new look,with some changes to the navigation.
Trichet: S Eastern European challenges & prospects
In a speech on 'South Eastern European challenges and prospects' given on 29 November, Jean-Claude Trichet of the European Central Bank said that the recent enlargement to ten new Member States, as well as the progress in the accession negotiations with…
Dodge on Canada's monetary policy
In a speech to the Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce given on 24 November, David Dodge of the Bank of Canada said he remained "broadly comfortable" with the key economic assumptions underlying the current monetary policy of the Bank of…
Richmond Fed's Economic Quarterly, Fall 2004
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has published its Economic Quarterly for Fall 2004. The paper "Ricardo versus Wicksell on job losses and technological change" looks at Knut Wicksell's revisions of Ricardo's classical model with modern concepts and…