Central Banks
SARS trims growth in Malaysia to 4%
Malaysia's economy grew at its slowest pace in a year in the first quarter, the government said on Wednesday May 28, according to a Bloomberg report, as overseas sales of Unisem Bhd. and other computer chipmakers fell.
Zimbabwe bank notes crisis worsens
Tuesday May 27 saw a worsening of the bank note shortage in Zimbabwe, according to The Herald Online, with some banks running out of notes and long queues at ATM machines.
Issing on efficiency in financial institutions
In a speech on 'Efficiency in financial institutions' Otmar Issing of the ECB said sound central banking, but also banking in general and the business of savings banks in particular, must be based on long-term objectives. In this context, the monetary…
Reserve Bank of Fiji - Annual Report 2002
The Reserve Bank of Fiji has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2002.
Electronic Money System Security Objectives
Electronic money system security objectives according to the common criteria methodology, 23 May. The "Electronic Money System Security Objectives" (EMSSO) report, published on Friday, presents the expectations of the Eurosystem with regard to the…
Norges Bank Financial Stability Report No.1, 2003
The Central Bank of Norway, Norges Bank, has published its twice yearly Financial Stability Report 1/2003. In the report the bank said the outlook for financial stability is considered to be satisfactory, but somewhat weaker than six months ago.
Inflation is a bigger danger than deflation
An article in the Financial Times says that although the threat of global deflation has become a preoccupation for economic commentators there are signs of the loss of value of dollar money, which is a symptom of incipient monetary inflation.
ECB's Padoa-Schioppa: no danger of deflation
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa of the ECB was quoted Monday as saying speculation over deflation was alarmist and that the central bank stands ready to act if necessary, according to Reuters.
Turkey, Kazakhstan sign banking sector memorandum
Turkey's Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency and the central bank of Kazakhstan have signed a memorandum of understanding in the line of the joint goal of ensuring financial system stability, according to the anatolia news agency.
Gold bars worth $500m seized at Syrian border
A haul of 2000 gold bars was found during the routine inspection of a truck near the Syrian border, according to Reuters. The gold was estimated to be worth about $500 million and may have come from the Iraq central bank's reserves.
Brazil cb to maintain curent monetary policy
Brazil's central bank governor has said the bank will maintain its current stance on monetary policy despite the resignation of the director of economic policy, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
NBP won't release its reserves for budget
The National Bank of Poland's governor said the bank will not yield to the request of finance minister Grzegorz Kolodko, who had called on the NBP to release part of its foreign currency reserve and transfer the money to the state budget, according to…
Bosnian banking agencies, central bank sign deal
Bosnia-Hercegovina Central Bank Governor Peter Nicholl signed a memorandum on cooperation and exchange of information in Sarajevo with banking agencies from Serbia and Bosnia-Hercegovina, reports the SRNA news agency.
Buba's Welteke rejects recession idea in interview
Bundesbank president Ernst Welteke said in a radio interview that Germany was simply in a "phase of mere stagnation" rejecting an IMF report that said the country was on the brink of recession, according to a broadcast by Deutsche Welle Radio.
CentralBankNet Monday Special Feature
SPECIAL FEATURE - In this weeks CentralBankNet Special Feature Andrew Smithers discusses the economic solutions and political obstructions to reviving Japan's stagnant economy.
Kennedy on business continuity planning
In a speech on 'Business Continuity Planning for the Financial Sector: Developing a System-Wide Approach' Sheryl Kennedy of the Bank of Canada said talks about the importance of Business Continuity Planning (BCP) and disaster recovery, in the context of…
Gjedrem on policy response to the economic outlook
In a speech on 'The monetary policy response to the economic outlook' Svein Gjedrem of Norges Bank said the last interest rate reduction reflected expectations of low inflation as a result of the strong krone and low international price inflation with…
Survey of Professional Forecasters
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has published its Survey of Professional Forecasters for the Second Quarter 2003. The U.S.economy will likely expand at a slower pace in 2003 than predicted just three months ago, according to the survey.
Bo J Monthly Report downgrades economy view
The Bank of Japan published its Monthly Report of Recent Economic and Financial Developments, May 2003, on 22 May. In the report the BOJ downgraded its view on the economy, citing "greater uncertainty" over the outlook. It said that overall conditions…
New Bank of England Agency Opened in Exeter
Eddie George opened the Bank of England's new regional office in Exeter on Friday 23 May. This is the central base for the Bank's Agency for South West England.
Financial data and monetary policy transparency
The Reserve Bank of Australia published a Research Discussion Paper on 23 May titled "What Do Financial Market Data Tell Us About Monetary Policy Transparency?" by Jonathan Coppel and Ellis Connolly. This paper attempts to discern from financial market…
Zimbabwe's central bank raises gold sale price
Zimbabwe's central bank has raised the price paid to small scale gold producers by 114 percent following the abolition of the gold floor price support scheme, the Financial Gazette reports.
BOK Governor discounts deflation risk
The Bank of Korea (BOK) governor Park Seung said on Thursday 22 May that there is little possibility of deflation at this point with the current heated real estate market, according to a report in the Korea Times.
Brazil's central bank head of economics resigns
The head of economic policy at Brazil's central bank, Ilan Goldfajn, resigned on Thursday 22 May, according to Associated Press, but denied the decision had anything to do with criticism the bank received at not cutting interest rates earlier in the week.