Central Banks
Dodge on monetary policy in an uncertain world
SPEECH - In the speech 'Monetary Policy: Meeting the Challenges of an Uncertain World' David Dodge of the Bank of Canada said that Canada's macroeconomic policy framework is protecting the economy from both persistently high inflation and the threat of…
Eisuke Sakakibara: Why inflation targets wont work
INTERVIEW - Those who advocate inflation targets have not presented any convincing scenarios of how inflation targeting would cause the prices of goods and services to increase. Setting an inflation target without laying out such a scenario would be…
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee
MINUTES - The Federal Reserve on 30 January released the minutes of its FOMC meeting of 10 December. The information reviewed at this meeting suggested that economic growth had been sluggish on balance since midsummer. Industrial production dropped…
Gjedrem on inflation targeting
SPEECH - In the speech 'Inflation targeting' Svein Gjedrem of Norges Bank said after close to two years of inflation targeting, experience shows that monetary policy has an impact on inflation. He adds that the 'experience has been uplifting' but goes on…
Bank of England Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Modelling and Forecasting at the Bank of England - The Pagan Report and the Bank's Response, 30 January.
Pagan Report on the Bank of England's Model
REPORT - The Pagan Report on Modelling and Forecasting at the Bank of England, 30 January. Professor Pagan concludes that the model does not represent the 'state of the art'. But he also concludes that the deficiencies of the model have not detracted…
A funny way to manage Europe's money
ARTICLE - This article looks at the potential for enlargement of the eurozone and its impact on the ECB's governing council. The author sees problems ahead saying that today's 18 member council is already too large and proposals for rotational voting…
Sveriges Riksbank Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Comments on article on DN's debate page, 23 January.
Bursary scheme for research work in Malta
The Central Bank of Malta has recently launched a Bursary Scheme to enable local and foreign postgraduate students or holders of a postgraduate degree to obtain research work experience at the Bank through research projects on areas of interest to the…
Japan's Koizumi: Economic reforms need more time
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi insisted Friday there would be no financial crisis in the world's second-largest economy, promising tax cuts and pleading for time for reforms to work. He also said his Cabinet and the central bank were working…
December FOMC saw monetary policy well positioned
Federal Reserve policymakers believed they had already laid a foundation for a pickup in U.S. economic growth when they decided in December to hold interest rates steady, FOMC minutes released on Thursday showed.
Venezuela central bank - for ex controls necessary
Domingo Maza Zavala, the director of the Central Bank of Venezuela, has said that a foreign exchange control system is "not desirable", but it is necessary. He added that he thinks measures should have been taken a lot earlier, when the strike in the oil…
Russia posts small rise in gold reserves
Russia's gold and currency reserves have grown 100m dollars, from 48.1bn to 48.2bn dollars, in the period from 17 January to 24 January, a news agency said information from the Central Bank of Russia.
IMF disclaims West Africa single currency report
The on-going debate on the workability of a single currency for the West African sub-region, took another turn on Thursday as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) appeared to disclaim a report submitted by its researchers opposing Nigerian participation…
Colombia, Venezuela c banks to discuss for ex
The central bank chiefs from Colombia and Venezuela will soon meet in the Colombian city of Cartagena to discuss concerns that planned Venezuelan currency controls could disrupt debt payments, Colombia's government said on Wednesday.
ECB goes shopping
European Central Bank's extensive shopping list for 2003 is now available on the European Union's public procurement website. The site reveals that the ECB is planning major investments in IT infrastructure to create new disaster backup sites and expand…
Currency Crises and Macroeconomic Performance
RESEARCH - In the Reserve Bank of Australia Research Paper, 'Currency Crises and Macroeconomic Performance' the authors present some theory and evidence on the implications of sudden currency depreciations for output and inflation. The paper identifies…
Bean on economists and the real world
SPEECH - In the speech 'Economists and the Real World' Charles Bean of the Bank of England said it is often said that central bank independence is desirable because it takes the politics out of monetary policy. He also said an important feature of the…
Federal Reserve Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to keep its target for the federal funds rate unchanged at 1-1/4 percent, 30 January.
Who'll take over Poland's Monetary Policy Council?
ARTICLE - An interesting article 'New RPP in 2004: Who is Going to Replace the Hawks?' speculates on who may take over on the National Bank of Poland's Monetary Policy Council when the present members term finishes in 2004.
France warned over stability pact violation
France's intention to effectively ignore the EU's stability and growth pact brought warnings on Wednesday to stop challenging the rules underpinning the euro, or risk causing long-term harm to the credibility of the single currency.
Ukraine not to join Russian rouble zone - c banker
Ukraine is neither going to join the rouble zone nor has it received any relevant proposal from Russia, the chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, Serhiy Tyhypko, has said.
Mexico keeps its inflation target at 3 per cent
The Bank of Mexico on Wednesday played down the prospects of direct intervention in the foreign exchange markets to support the peso, as it unveiled a monetary policy for this year that maintains its target of 3 per cent inflation for the year.
Roger Ferguson joins CGFS as chairman
The Bank for International Settlements, owned by the world's leading central banks, has appointed Roger Ferguson as chairman of its committee on the global financial system. The CGFS is a central bank forum for monitoring and examining issues relating to…