Central Banks
Wisdom, wit and gaffes from Sir Edward George
As the governor of the Bank of England prepares to leave the Old Lady an article in the Independent guides you, in its words, "through some of Sir Edward's "thoughts" and some other thoughts about Sir Edward, renowned central banker, after-dinner speaker…
Namibian study says customs union hurts economy
A study carried out by the central bank of Namibia shows that the country's loss was approximately 549m Namibian dollars over a period of 12 years as a result of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Common Revenue Pool, according to a report by the…
2nd round of talks due Friday over Bulgaria c bank
A second session of talks has been scheduled for Friday to discuss candidates for governor of the central bank of Bulgaria, Novinite reports. The option of naming a third nominee will be considered at Friday's consultation.
Constitution could mean veto loss over ECB changes
The new draft European constitution could mean European member states would no longer have a veto over adjustments to the workings of the ECB, according to the Financial Times. The UK Treasury and the Foreign Office both said they would campaign for…
Norges Bank reduces interest rates by 1 per cent
Norges Bank, the central bank of Norway, cut its main interest rate by 1 per cent to 4 per cent on 25 June.
Regional central bank unviable - Tito Mboweni
Tito Mboweni, governor of the South African Reserve Bank, said on Tuesday 24 June "We have agreed we will do some research on what the feasibility is of a common central bank for South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia", according to Reuters…
Norway's c bank makes largest rate cut in 10 years
Norway's central bank cut its main interest rate on Wednesday 25 June by a percentage point, the biggest reduction since 1992, to revive a faltering economy in the world's third largest oil exporter. acording to Bloomberg.
Brazil adjusts inflation target upwards to 5.5%
Brazil revised its inflation target up on Tuesday 24 June to 5.5 per cent, reports Merco Press. The 2005 target was fixed at 4.5 per cent. Making the announcement, Brazilian Finance Minister Antonio Palocci emphasized that the government will keep…
RBNZ appoint Head of Operations
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Tuesday 24 June announced the appointment of Murray Bain as the Bank's Assistant Governor and Head of Operations. He will have particular responsibility for the Bank's financial, corporate, commercial and other internal…
Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report, May 2003
The Bundesbank said in its May 2003 monthly report that major uncertainty in the global economy and on the international financial markets, which peaked in the first quarter as the Iraq war was approaching, has since receded. This is reflected mainly by…
Central Bank of Ireland - Annual Report 2002
The Central Bank of Ireland has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2002. Governor John Hurley said in the foreword to the Annual Report that the international background for the Irish economy in 2002 has been difficult and there are few signs…
BoJ Monetary Policy minutes, 30 April
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 30 April 2003, released 16 June. The minutes showed at least two of the BoJ's nine policy board members favour the introduction of a "reference rate of inflation" to halt deflation.
BOK governor may get more say over board members
A draft bill may give the Bank of Korea more influence over the appointment of members to its monetary policy board, Dow Jones reports. The proposed bill would increase the number of members the governor, Park Seung, can recommend to the board.
Belgian central bank shares drop on court ruling
A commercial court in Belgium has dismissed as unfounded a law suit calling for an extraordinary meeting of shareholders of the Belgian central bank, according to Reuters. The meeting was to ask for the dissolution of the Bank because a transfer of the…
CBN fails to take its place on NBCB governing body
A month after the National Board for Community Banks (NBCB) was inaugurated the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has not attended any meetings nor fill its position on the board, NBCB sources confirmed to Vanguard, Nigeria.
Italy unveils a proposed 1 euro note
Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti has come out in favour of the introduction of €1 notes, RTE News reports. Belgium and Austria have signalled they too favour small denomination notes with at least five eurozone states thought to be backing the…
Venezuela c bank seeks easing of forex controls
The central bank of Venezuela has appealed for a relaxation of the foreign exchange control regime currently in place, according to a report in the Financial Times. Domingo Maza Zavala, a central bank director, said the bank has called on the finance…
IMF deputy says U.S. Fed has room to cut rates
Deputy IMF managing director Eduardo Aninat said in a speech that the Federal Reserve has played a valuable role in sustaining domestic demand and "retains room to provide further stimulus should the recovery falter", according to a report by Reuters.
Brazil may raise inflation target
Economists have said that Brazil is likely to raise its inflation target to a more realistic level which could allow the central bank more room to reduce interest rates, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Fed's Bernanke on soft hearts, hard data
In a speech entitled 'Soft Hearts, Hard Data: The Use of Quantitative Analysis in Community Development' Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said the collection and especially the analysis of data present difficult challenges to community organizations…
Bundesbank report reassures over deflation fears
In its June monthly report the Bundesbank acknowledged deflationary risk does exist, Reuters reports, but said that there was no sign it would turn into a damaging reality.
Central Bank Talk: Does it Matter and Why?
Paper 'Central Bank Talk: Does it Matter and Why?' presented by Donald Kohn and a senior Federal Reserve economist. Statements released by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and congressional testimony by Chairman Greenspan are found to…
Bank of Canada appoint sSpecial Adviser
The Bank of Canada on Friday 20 June announced the appointment of Professor John Helliwell to the visiting-economist position of Special Adviser during 2003 and 2004.
Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, Summer 2003
The Bank of England released its Quarterly Bulletin, Summer 2003, on 20 June. The Bulletin includes articles entitled 'What caused the rise in the UK terms of trade?' and 'An analysis of the UK gold auctions 1999-2002'.