Central Banks
BSP comments on suspension reports
Press release from the Philippines central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), 14 August, on media reports that court of appeals ordered suspension of central bank officials.
Philippine court suspends central bank chief
Rafael Buenaventura, governor of the Philippines central bank, has been suspended from the bank for a year, according to a report by Channel1NewsAsia. The Court of Appeals on Wednesday 13 April found Mr Buenaventura and four other central bank officials …
Germany in recession as Eurozone stagnates
The German economy fell into a technical recession after data showed a second successive quarter of negative growth in the three months to the end of June, Reuters reports.
Persson tells Swedes euro won't hit welfare scheme
With the September referendum on the euro fast approaching, the Financial Times reports that Swedish prime minister Goran Persson has moved to reassure Swede's that their generous welfare programmes would not be damaged by euro membership.
India may ease some rules on rupee trading
Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan, speaking at the Forex Association of India. said that the RBA could loosen rules on currency trading, according to Bloomberg. He also said that "Convertibility continues to be a desirable objective for all…
Mboweni remains upbeat on inflation
Speaking at a press conference following the South African Reserve Bank's two-day Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Thursday 14 August, Tito Mboweni said that not only did the inflation outcome improve over the past two months, but the inflation…
Russian state eyes central bank profits
Russia's 2004 draft budget proposes to let the central bank keep 20 percent of its profits, down from the current level of 50 percent, according to The Moscow Times. However First Deputy Central Bank Chairman Oleg Vyugin said in an interview "We do not…
Federal Reserve keeps interest rate at 1 percent
Holding the federal funds rates at 1 percent Tuesday 12 August, the FOMC said the risk of inflation becoming undesirably low is likely to be the predominant concern for the foreseeable future. In these circumstances it said that policy accommodation can…
Bank of England Inflation Report, August 2003
The Bank of England published its quarterly Inflation Report for August 2003 on Wednesday 13 August. In the report the Bank said "The recovery in the world economy has been slow and uneven," and "Inflation is projected to run somewhat below target…
Pennant-Rea joins board of Financial News Group
Former deputy governor of the Bank of England Rupert Pennant-Rea is to become a non-executive director on the board of the Financial News Group, according to the Financial Times.
Lebanon's Riad Salameh accentuates the positive
Lebanon's balance of payments recorded a big surplus of $2.5 billion until the end of June, central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Monday 11 August, according to a report by The Daily Star. He said he expected the growth in bank savings to reach an…
Bank of England cuts inflation forecast
The Bank of England's inflation report published on Wednesday 13 August showed that the Bank expects inflation to dip below the 2.5 percent target for most of 2004, after reaching 3 percent in April, Bloomberg reports.
Quaden on the Financial Stability Committee
In a speech on the 'Installation of the Financial Stability Committee' given on 30 July Guy Quaden of the National Bank of Belgium said that this new Committee and the far more historic institutions from which it emanates are firmly resolved that they…
Nigeria's Sanusi on efforts towards monetary union
In a speech on 'Ongoing efforts towards a monetary union in the West African sub-region' given on 1 July Dr Joseph Sanusi of the Central Bank of Nigeria said he was pleased to be given the privilege to brief Governors about on-going efforts to move…
Norway's central bank reduces interest rates
Norges Bank reduced interest rates on Wednesday 13 August by 1 percent to 3 percent, according to a report by Afterposten. This was the sixth time this year that Norway's central bank lowered interest rates.
Mexico reserves rise to $51.980 bln in Aug 8 week
Mexico's international reserves rose $255 million between Aug. 1 and Aug. 8 the Banco de Mexico said on Tuesday 12 August, according to Reuters..
BOU gets tough on forex flow
Foreign exchange bureau operators in Uganda have been issued with new guidelines on how to tackle money laundering, according to All Africa News. This focus on forex operators is part of the Uganda Bankers Association's 'Know Your Customer' (KYC)…
Zimbabwe's retailers reject new travellers cheques
After the introduction of new travellers' cheques in Zimbabwe to ease the cash crisis, reports say some retailers are turning away customers who have the cheques, according to All Africa News.
UK Treasury reviews cash ratio deposit scheme
Conclusions and recommendations of a UK Government review of the cash ratio deposit scheme for financial institutions. The key conclusions of the review are: The cash ratio deposit scheme continues to be a suitable method of funding Bank of England…
Perspectives on deflation
In this issue we present a variety of views on the threat of deflation. Here we offer a summary and our own conclusion.
Interview: Martin Feldstein
In conversation, Professor Feldstein discusses his worries for the European Central Bank's future, who is to blame for the bubble, the US payments deficit and the international monetary system.
Interview: Rene Smits
A recent little-noticed ruling by the European Court of Justice could have far-reaching implications for the European Central Bank. The former legal counsel at the Netherlands Bank discusses the consequences of this for ECB finances and governance, and…
Deflation holds no terrors for Hong Kong
In the first of a three-part feature, Tony Latter, former deputy chief executive at the HKMA, cites Hong Kong's experience to argue that mild deflation may not be too injurious.