Central Banks
Sweden's Persson on Basel II and SMEs
On Thursday 23 September, Sveriges Riksbank Deputy Governor Kristina Persson gave a speech titled "Banking and regional development" at a research conference in Stockholm, organised by the Goran Collert Foundation. The subjects discussed included Basel…
Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, Autumn 2004
The Bank of England released its Quarterly Bulletin Autumn 2004, on 24 September. Declines in UK house prices may have a smaller impact on consumer spending than in the 1980s, even after households racked up more than a trillion pounds of debt ($1.8…
After the EU Financial Services Action Plan
A joint document by HM Treasury, the Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England "EU Financial Services Action Plan: UK Response to the Reports of the Four Independent Experts Groups, September 2004" was published on 24 September.
HKMA promotes public awareness of new banknotes
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said on Monday 27 September that its education campaign on the new series banknotes is making good progress. The main aim of the campaign is to promote public awareness of the security features of the remaining…
ECB's Papademos sees faster eurozone growth
European Central Bank Vice President Lucas Papademos said at the weekend that economic growth in the dozen euro member countries may be faster in coming quarters than has previously been forecast.
Ex-BOJ official says G7 to share views with China
The Group of Seven major economies are likely to seek to share views on the world economy with China in a financial meeting later this week rather than to negotiate on any specific issues, a former Bank of Japan executive has said.
3rd SEACEN payment systems meeting ends
The 3rd Meeting of Southeast Asian Central Bank (SEACEN), Directors of Payment and Settlement System and the 3rd SEACEN-CPSS course on `Payment and Settlement for Emerging Economies' ended with a dinner at The Empire Hotel and Country Club in Brunei last…
Ireland's cb admit sflaw in housing model
The Central Bank of Ireland has admitted that the housing model used to produce its first financial stability report last week is flawed. Reports said the current model does not take adequate account of the effect on lenders of a shock to the Irish…
Corruption allegations against Zimbabwe's Gono
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has been rocked by allegations of corruption with reports that the Governor, Gideon Gono, has been personally recruiting staff without advertising vacant positions, ZWNews reported this week.
Euromoney award goes to Argentina's Prat-Gay
At the IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington on October 3, Euromoney will present its central bank governor of the year award for 2004 to Alfonso Prat-Gay of Argentina. Request a free trial to view this article from Euromoney's September issue.
BOK sees salaries soar
The Bank of Korea said in a report to the National Assembly that average annual salary has jumped by 46 percent in the last four years.
Bomb threat at SARB
The South African Reserve Bank's head office received a telephoned bomb threat from an anonymous caller between 12 and 12.30 on Friday 17 September, but national payment systems and market operations were not affected.
SARB, Quarterly Bulletin, September 2004
Inflation pressures in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region are expected to subside somewhat on account of sustained policy discipline and improved food-supply conditions in most parts of the subcontinent, the South African Reserve…
Revisions to Fed's policy on payments system risk
The Federal Reserve Board announced on Thursday 23 September that it has revised its Policy Statement on Payments System Risk (PSR policy) concerning interest and redemption payments on securities issued by government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and…
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, August 2004
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index was +0.19 in August, down sharply from an upwardrevised +0.53 in July. The drop in the monthly index was due to smaller positive contributions from production-related data and, to a lesser extent, housing and…
FOMC Minutes, 10 August
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's 10 August FOMC meeting released on 24 September showed that with interest rates so low and inflation rising, Fed officials saw the need in coming quarters for a "significant" number of interest rate rises.
Switzerland's last tranche of gold sales
In spring 2000, the Swiss National Bank began selling that part of the gold reserves no longer required for monetary policy purposes. The sales - which will total 1,300 tonnes - have to date been effected according to the agreement on gold sales…
Fed won't let budget gap push up prices- Gramlich
Federal Reserve Board Governor Edward Gramlich said on Thursday 23 September that credible monetary policies can prevent large government budget gaps from stoking inflation, and expressed optimism that would be the case in the United States.
Japan to issue anti-counterfeit banknotes
Japan will issue what are described as the world's most advanced anti-counterfeit banknotes on 1 November.
China's Wen says no plan for imminent rate rise
China's Premier Wen Jiabao has ruled out the possibility of an imminent rise in interest rates and added that the country would consider its own macroeconomic situation and inflation before making any decision on rates.