Central Banks
ECB Monthly Bulletin, July 2002
REPORT - The European Central Bank published its July 2002 Monthly Bulletin on 11 July. The ECB reiterated its current wait-and-see stance on interest rates, saying inflation remained a concern but mixed signals about the state of the euro zone economy…
Research paper from the HKMA
RESEARCH - Research papers on economic and financial subjects prepared by staff members in the Research Department of the HKMA. "Price Convergence between Hong Kong and the Mainland" by Jiming Ha and Kelvin Fan, June 2002, published 11 July 2002.
European Central Bank Consultation Announcement
ANNOUNCEMENT - Oversight standards for euro retail payment systems, 8 July.
Oversight standard for euro retail payment systems
REPORT - European Central Bank Document for public consultation, 8 July.
IMF Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - IMF Managing Director Horst Kohler Announces Advisory Group on Argentina, 10 July.
Speech by David Carse, HKMA, 11 July
SPEECH - In the speech 'Enhancing Deposit Protection in Hong Kong' Carse said that his objective was to explain the thinking behind the decision to introduce deposit insurance in Hong Kong and to describe the main design features of the proposed scheme…
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee
MINUTES - The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday released the minutes of its discount rate meetings from 1 April to 6 May. "No sentiment was expressed in favor of an increase in the discount rate," the April 29 minutes said. The language in the May 6…
Simple answers in debate are likely to mislead
LETTER - Letter published in Thursday's Financial Times from Christopher Taylor a Visiting Fellow at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, London.
Russia change valuation of gold and forex reserves
RUSSIA - The Central Bank of Russia is changing the method for calculating the gold and foreign exchange reserves, Central Bank First Deputy Chairman Oleg Vyugin said on Thursday.
Ecuador's banks adopt electronic interbank system
ECUADOR - Ecuadorian banks have 60 days as of 27 June to adapt their systems to the central bank's electronic interbank payment system, Ecuadorian financial daily El Comercio reported.
Solomon Islands bank head - economy at rock-bottom
SOLOMON ISLANDS - Governor of Central Bank Rick Hou says Solomon Islands has hit rock-bottom as far as the economy is concerned.
MPs urge name change at the Bank of England
UK - Did you hear the one about the Scotsman, the Welshman, the Ulsterman and the Bank of England? The Scotsman newspaper reports on Thursday that the Bank of England was infact founded by a Scotsman and that the word "England" is inappropriate in the…
Friedman predicts euro's end within 15 years
GERMANY - The euro system will disintegrate within 15 years because of economic and cultural differences between member states, the Nobel Prize-winning US economist Milton Friedman says today, reported the UK's Independent newspaper on Thursday.
Speech by Wim Duisenberg, ECB President, 5 July
SPEECH - In his opening remarks to the International Research Forum on Monetary Policy Duisenberg said we have issues to address at the Forum which are at the heart of monetary policy-making, and which are of great relevance to central bankers worldwide.
Speech by H Kohler, Managing Director, IMF, 5 July
SPEECH - In a speech to the Central Bank Governors' Symposium titled 'Reform of the International Financial Architecture: A Work in Progress' Kohler acknowledged how much we depend on central bankers in our member countries. "Every day, you have to take…
Speech by Otmar Issing of the ECB, 5 July
SPEECH - In a speech titled 'Some reflections on handling monetary policy in a global environment' Issing said that coordinated policy action by central banks of the type seen after the September 11 attacks would likely remain limited to exceptional…
Speech by Eva Srejber of Sveriges Riksbank, 9 July
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Inflation targeting and bubbles' Srejber said "there are many indications that the real economy effects of the severe stock market fall will be limited". But cautioned that, "it is not possible to write off the risk of…
OECS undertakes economic restructuring programme
EASTERN CARIBBEAN - The governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Sir Dwight Venner, says several activities are underway in the Eastern Caribbean to help the sub-region address serious economic difficulties.
Yugoslavia to issue €4.1bn of bonds
YUGOSLAVIA - Yugoslavia is set to issue €4.1bn worth of bonds in early August as part of its domestic debt settlement, which could pave the way for the creation of a liquid debt market, a Yugoslav central bank official said.
Eurosystem currency reserves unchanged this week
GERMANY - The European Central Bank said eurosystem net foreign currency reserves were virtually unchanged at 232.6 mln euro in the week ending 5 July.
IMF and World Bank collaborate closely
LETTER - Letter published in the Financial Times on Wednesday from a former Deputy Managing Director of the IMF. P.R. Narvekar describes Joseph Stiglitz criticism of the IMF as "baseless and vicious".
MPs will quiz Brown on euro entry tests in autumn
UK - Gordon Brown is to face a Commons inquiry into the Treasury's five economic tests for euro entry after a hard-fought battle by opposition MPs to get the issue on the agenda.
ECB Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Allotment amount of the longer-term refinancing operations in the second half of 2002, 10 July.
Speech by H Kohler, Managing Director, IMF, 4 July
SPEECH - In evidence before the UK Parliament's Treasury Select Committtee titled 'The IMF in the Process of Change' Kohler said "we have seen a near revolution in the transparency of the IMF, and in the release of economic and financial data by our…