Central Banks
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…
New Chairman of the Joint Forum
Gay Huey Evans, Director of Markets at the UK Financial Services Authority, will succeed Jose Maria Roldan as Chairman of the Joint Forum, a group of experts working under the umbrella of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in January 2004. She…
Tom Hoenig, from baseball to banking
During a recent visit to a Kansas City school, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Tom Hoenig reminisced about his early experiences of banking as a 12-year-old baseball fan. He needed $100 to buy new equipment and his father talked a local…
BoJ's Fukui on achieving sustainable growth
In a speech on 'Achieving Sustainable Growth' given on 28 November, Toshihiko Fukui of the Bank of Japan said the BoJ's framework for quantitative easing coupled with measures to strengthen the transmission mechanism of monetary policy will improve the…
Atlanta's Guynn: Beyond Short-Term Interests
In the speech 'Beyond Short-Term Interests' given on 21 November, Jack Guynn of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said the U.S. economy is already growing in a way that appears broad-based and sustainable. Atlanta has a long list of "right stuff"…
Hans Eichel Interview - 'Spirit' of Pact observed
In an interview published by Welt am Sonntag, German Finance Minister Hans Eichel said Germany has "observed the letter and spirit of the Stability Pact". He commented that further measures to reign in the budget deficit would have been wrong and…