Central Banks
B of E's George predicts 3-year downturn
UK - Sir Edward George hinted last night in a speech that he would back further cuts in interest rates and warned the global economic slowdown could last for three more years.
Sweden's Riksbank leaves repo rate unchanged
SWEDEN - Sweden's central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, left its key repo rate unchanged at 3.75% Tuesday 16 October, as expected, in conjunction with the release of its latest inflation report.
Thai central bank head: IMF satisfied with rates
THAILAND - The governor of the Bank of Thailand, Pridiyathorn Devakula, said Monday 15 October that the management team of the International Monetary Fund was satisfied with the level of the bank's policy signalling interest rate.
EU candidates told not to focus only on inflation
UK - Central banks in countries seeking to join the European Union should ensure that their battle against inflation doesn't harm economic growth, a senior official at the European Central Bank said.
Fed's Ferguson - Long term US econ prospects sound
US - Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson on Tuesday said the U.S. economy's longer-term prospects "remain sound," but said it is not known how long it will be before U.S. economic growth begins to recover from the events of 11 September.
ECB's Issing: Unlikely HICP below 2% by end 2001
GERMANY - European Central Bank Chief Economist and Executive Board member Otmar Issing said Monday 15 October that third quarter euro-zone growth figures to be published by Eurostat in December aren't likely to be encouraging.
Deadline passes for banks to meet new rules
BRAZIL - Last Friday 12 October saw the passage of the deadline for banks to meet the decision of the National Monetary Council (CMN), taken at its last meeting, demanding that the institutions have more equity to meet operations with foreign exchange…
BOE Oct minutes: MPC voted 8-1 to cut repo rate
UK - The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 to cut the repo rate by a quarter percentage point to 4.5% in October, just weeks after it had cut rates by an equal amount in a 7-2 vote, according to minutes of those meetings released…
Discussion paper from the Bank of England
RESEARCH - Bank of England External MPC Unit Discussion Paper No.6 by Nicoletta Batini and Edward Nelson, October 2001, Friedman Revisited.
Discussion paper from the Bank of England
RESEARCH - Bank of England External MPC Unit Discussion Paper No.5 by Bennett T. McCallum and Edward Nelson, October 2001, Monetary Policy for an Open Economy.
Bank of Japan Monthly Economic Report
MONTHLY REPORT - The Bank of Japan today published its regular Monthly Report of Recent Economic and Financial Developments, October 2001.
Speech by Laurence Meyer of the Federal Reserve
SPEECH - Remarks by Governor Laurence H. Meyer, at the Bank Administration Institute's Conference on Risk Management, New York, NY, 15 October.
Speech by Lars Heikensten of Sweden's central bank
SPEECH - Speech by First Deputy Governor of Sveriges Riksbank, Sweden's central bank, Lars Heikensten at the Swedish Taxpayers Association, 80th anniversary, Stockholm International Fair, 4 October.
Meyer: Basel rules take time, need bank support
US - New rules on risk management and bank capital standards will take longer to set up than either banks or regulators want but they are too complicated to rush, Federal Reserve Governor Laurence Meyer said in a speech on Monday 15 October.
Sharp fall in UK inflation revealed
UK - The headline rate of UK inflation, which includes mortgage interest payments, fell last month by 0.4 of a percentage point to 1.7%.
Bank of Japan issues grim outlook
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan, as widely expected, downgraded its assessment of the economy, citing a continued tumble in output and exports, deteriorating job and income conditions, and an increasingly bleak economic outlook following the 11 September…
Japan's central bank warns on economy
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan has warned that the country's economy is facing "more severe" adjustments, with the "terrorist attacks in the US... further [heightening] uncertainty".
Speech by Laurence Meyer of the Federal Reserve
SPEECH - Remarks by Governor Laurence H. Meyer of the Federal Reserve Board at the 52nd International Atlantic Economic Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 12 October.
Japan's policy board keep monetary policy same
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan's policy board voted Friday 12 October to keep monetary policy unchanged, brushing aside mounting domestic and international pressure for the BOJ to flood the banking system with more cash to help support the sagging economy.
Vietnam's gold prices soar again after US strikes
VIETNAM - Local gold prices shot up to VND5.3 million a tael (37.5 grammes) on Monday morning before settling down to VND5.27 million a tael in the afternoon following the US-led air strikes on Afghanistan.
Noyer: E european c banks should aim for growth
POLAND - Central banks in countries seeking to join the European Union should ensure that their battle against inflation doesn't harm economic growth, a senior official at the European Central Bank said in a speech on Monday 15 October.
Fed's Meyer says attacks raise surplus doubts
US - Federal Reserve Gov. Laurence Meyer said in a speech on Friday 12 October the 11 September attacks on U.S. financial and military landmarks have raised sharply uncertainties about future federal budget surpluses.
Speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan
SPEECH - Remarks by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Economic Policy Conference, St. Louis, Missouri (via videoconference), 11 October.
Speech by Patrick Barron of the Atlanta Fed
SPEECH - Remarks by Patrick K. Barron, Retail Payments Product Director, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, BAI National Electronic Check Collection Conference, Tucson, Arizona, 1 October.