Central Banks
Slaves to the mechanical rules of central banking
Stephen Cecchetti, in an article in the Financial Times, delves into history and says it is difficult to justify the unstated extension of Alan Greenspan's argument, as made at the recent Jackson Hole conference, from flexibility in the execution of…
Central Bank of Jordan - Annual Report 2002
The Central Bank of Jordan has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2002. The Jordanian economy in 2002 managed to cope with regional and international developments, the Annual Report says. This outcome was achieved through implementing a set…
Central Bank of Peru - Annual Report 2002
The Central Bank of Peru has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2002. Since 2002, the Central Bank's monetary policy has been conducted following a scheme of Explicit Inflation Targeting, the Annual Report says.
Russian central bank finds WW2 grenade in grounds
Construction workers digging in the grounds of the central bank of Russia found a World War 2 grenade on Thursday 4 September, according to Sapa-AP. Bomb squad members took it to a firing range to be blown up.
SARB to hold special monetary policy meeting
The South African Reserve Bank announced on Friday 5 September that it will hold a special monetary policy committee meeting on September 10, according to the Mail and Guradian. A statement from the Reserve Bank said that "major underlying trends in the…
NOK 500,000 stolen from Norway's central bank
Over NOK 500,000 has been stolen from a vault in Norges Bank, the central bank of Norway, according to the Norway Post. Police investigating the theft have questioned a number of employees who had access to the vault.
Buenaventura asks court to cancel his suspension
Philippines central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura on Friday September 5 asked the Court of Appeals to cancel a one-year suspension imposed on him last month, according to Agence France-Presse.
China's central bank governor defends policy
Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the PBOC, said on Thursday 4 September that it was too early to make a decision about the loosening of currency controls on the yuan, according to Associated Press. China's official news agency quoted him as saying "It is too…
Parry: Fed still has room to cut rates if needed
Robert Parry said on Thursday 4 September that the Federal Reserve still has room to cut interest rates if the US economy were to underperform, Reuters reports. But the San Francisco Fed chief, who is a voting member of the FOMC, stressed that he thought…
Fed's Ben Bernanke on the economic outlook
In a speech on 'The Economic Outlook' given on 4 September Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said the Fed had "no reason" to raise short-term interest rates so long as price pressures remained at bay. "In my view, the Federal Open Market Committee has…
Some questions and answers from the ECB
At the ECB's press conference on Thursday Vice President Lucas Papademos said the bank's governing council "takes note with great concern of recent fiscal developments" in some member states. Papademos did not name the countries concerned, but his…
Tito Mboweni convenes MPC meeting on 10 September
Announcement by Mr TT Mboweni, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, on the Special Monetary Policy Committee Meeting, 5 September.
Fed's McTeer: US jobless rate may drop by year-end
Dallas Fed President Robert McTeer said on Thursday 4 September, that with an upturn in US growth unemployment could fall by the end of the year, according to Reuters. He told reporters "It could easily be under 6 percent by year-end".
IMF open to idea of Asian Monetary Fund
IMF managing director Horst Kohler, addressing a luncheon meeting in Malaysia, said that the Fund is open to the idea of an Asian Monetary Fund and that the IMF could provide constructive dialogue on the idea, according to a report by Reuters.
Nyberg on developments in the property market
In a speech on 'Developments in the property market' given on 2 September, Lars Nyberg of the Sveriges Riksbank said in the housing market, prices have continued to rise despite the recent economic slowdown. The market for commercial property has instead…
False conceptions of the euro and the Riksbank
In a speech on 'False conceptions of the euro and the Riksbank' given on 3 September, Kristina Persson of the Sveriges Riksbank said less than two weeks remain now to the referendum that will determine whether Sweden shall introduce the euro. Adopting…
Federal Reserve Board - Beige Book, September 2003
The Federal Reserve Beige Book released on 3 September said that the US economy improved in July and August but the jobs market was stubbornly weak. "Labour markets remain slack across the nation, with few reports of occupational shortages," the report…
New Hong Kong banknotes
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has announced the forthcoming issue of a new series of Hong Kong banknotes in 2003 and 2004. A number of advanced security features have been added to the new banknotes to enhance their anti-counterfeiting capabilities,…
Interview with Bank of Thailand Deputy Governor
In an interview Bank of Thailand Deputy Governor Thirachai Phuvanat Naranubala said that since the beginning of the year the BoT has allowed the baht to be flexible to some extent "but we want to make sure that movements are in line with the real trend".
'Yes' camp narrows gap in Sweden's euro poll
The gap narrowed to just 5 percentage points between the No and the Yes camps in Sweden on Wednesday 3 September in the campaign to join the euro, according tothe Financial Times. A poll by Demoskop gave the No camp a 44 per cent to 39 per cent lead, the…
OECD urges ECB to be prepared to cut rates
The OECD has said that fiscal measures are unlikely have a significant impact on growth and urged the ECB to be ready to cut interest rates if further signs of weakness in the eurozone economy appeared, according to the Financial Times. OECD chief…
China agrees to allow free yuan float 'eventually'
China's central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, struck a conciliatory tone with US treasury secretary John Snow on Wednesday 3 September, reported the New York Times. He promised that the value of the yuan would eventually be determined by market forces…
SA Finance Minister on Mboweni's pay hike
South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has commented on central bank governor Tito Mboweni's 12% pay increase, according to Finance 24, saying that the matter could be taken up by the finance portfolio committee of the National Assembly.
New Zealand leaves Official Cash Rate unchanged
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has decided to leave the Official Cash Rate unchanged at 5 per cent, 4 September. Governor Alan Bollard said "Current monetary policy settings are consistent with medium-term inflation remaining comfortably within the…