Central Banks
Fed's Poole confident of substantial US recovery
US - William Poole, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis., said that his confidence level that there will be a substantial U.S. economic recovery is "very high," barring "the possibility of some external shocks."
Good news for c bank but weaknesses continue
FEATURE - The Central Bank had quite a good day on 3 April, managing to hold the dollar down to 2.8 pesos but also increasing its reserves by 4m dollars.
Duma approves c bank management structure changes
RUSSIA - The State Duma, in debates on amendments to the Central Bank law in the second reading on Friday, voted to give the National Banking Council the powers of a management body at the Central Bank.
Applied Financial Economics research paper
RESEARCH - 'The impact of federal reserve intervention on exchange rate volatility: evidence from the futures markets' by Sanjay Ramchander and R. Raymond Sant.
Bank of England leaves key lending rate at 4.0 pct
UK - The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee on Thursday left its key lending rate unchanged at 4.0 percent for the fifth month in a row despite signs Europe's second biggest economy is recovering.
Bank of England News Release
NEWS RELEASE - Bank of England Maintains Interest Rates at 4.0%, 4 April.
Speech by Ian Macfarlane, Governor, RBA, 4 Apr
SPEECH - In a speech titled 'The Australian Economy: Past, Present and Future' Macfarlane said the central bank was under no pressure to rush a move on interest rates, seeking to dampen market speculation of an imminent rate rise.
Speech by M Moskow, President, Chicago Fed, 3 Apr
SPEECH - In his speech 'The Impact of Open Markets and Expanded Trade on Economic Development' the Chicago Fed chief noted that economists have recently become more bullish on the prospects for U.S. economic growth and said, "On balance, we believe the…
ECB holds key interest rate unchanged at 3.25 pct
GERMANY - The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, reinforcing expectations its easing cycle had ended with the euro zone economy now on track to recovery.
ECB Press Conference
PRESS CONFERENCE - Introductory statement by Willem F. Duisenberg, President of the European Central Bank, Christian Noyer, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt, 4 April.
ECB Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Monetary Policy Decisions, 4 April.
Credit card holders set to rise if BOT eases rule
THAILAND - The number of credit card holders is expected to increase significantly if the Bank of Thailand agrees to decrease the minimum monthly salary required to be a card member from 15,000 to 10,000 baht, according to executives in the banking…
Current crisis is nothing new to Argentina
LETTER - Letter from Professor Steve Hanke published in the US edition of the Financial Times, 4 April.
Aus PM welcomes RBA decision not to raise rates
AUSTRALIA - Prime Minister John Howard has welcomed the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision not to increase interest rates at its meeting today.
Japan prices to keep falling gradually - Hayami
JAPAN - Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Masaru Hayami said on Thursday he expected prices to continue to fall gradually as the economy deteriorated further although pressure from weak exports and excess inventories was easing.
China updates rules for bank's risk management
CHINA - China's central bank has updated guidelines on internal risk management in an attempt to further coax commercial banks into reducing credit risk.
The big problem of small change
FEATURE - It is a curious fact, writes Paul Podolsky in Thursday's Wall Street Journal Europe, that the world's most trusted currency, the dollar, represents a claim on an asset no more tangible than the faith of the U.S. government. The same is true for…
Yugoslavia readies forex law ahead of new IMF deal
YUGOSLAVIA - Yugoslavia said on Wednesday it would fully liberalise the exchange rate regime for its dinar currency and scrap floating ranges to help secure a new three-year loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Speech by H Kohler, Managing Director, IMF, 21 Mar
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'The Monterrey Consensus and Beyond: Moving from Vision to Action' Kohler hailed the proposed document Monterrey Consensus saying that he was encouraged by the unprecedented degree of agreement about what is required to…
McDonough - Argentina must find its own solutions
ARGENTINA - The solutions to Argentina's current economic crisis must be found mostly by the country's own leaders, rather than through bailouts from outside the troubled nation, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William McDonough said Tuesday.
Kazakh c bank says expects rating upgrade
KAZAKHSTAN - Kazakhstan's central bank said on Wednesday it expected the country's sovereign credit rating to be upgraded this year and to reach investment rating level next year, paving the way for large scale portfolio investment, reports Reuters.
Bangladesh considering floating the taka - c bank
BANGLADESH - Bangladesh central bank governor Fakhruddin Ahmed said on Wednesday his country might consider floating the taka currency in an effort to further deregulate the money market.
Australia's RBA leaves rates unchanged at 4.25 pct
AUSTRALIA - The Reserve Bank of Australia Wednesday left interest rates unchanged following its April board meeting, despite expectations in some circles that it would begin the tightening cycle.
Sri Lanka c bank hands cheque clearing to local Co
SRI LANKA - The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has delegated the bank's operation of clearing cheques to local company Lanka Clear Ltd., reports the Daily News, quoting the central bank governor.