Central Banks
Mexico's assets and reserves increasing
MEXICO - The Banco de Mexico has announced that Mexico's net international assets rose to $45.277 billion on June 21 from $44.781 billion on June 14. It also said that its international reserves were at $42.107 billion, up from $41.961 billion the week…
China & S Korea sign $2bn currency swap deal
CHINA - The central banks of China and the Republic of Korea Monday signed a $2 billion currency swap deal which both sides hailed as a move to enhance bilateral co-operation and regional financial stability.
Aldo Pignanelli named new Argentine cb president
ARGENTINA - Argentina's President Eduardo Duhalde has appointed central bank vice-president Aldo Pignanelli as chairman of the bank after Mario Blejer resigned on Friday, the government said in a statement. Pignanelli has been vice-president since March…
Uruguay cb to create bank protection committee
URUGUAY - Uruguay's central bank will create a special committee to oversee the provision of liquidity for the country's banks, according to central bank chairman Cesar Rodriguez. "We don't want a single bank to fold [and] we want to protect depositors'…
Eurosystem currency reserves up by 1.3bn eur
GERMANY - The ECB said eurosystem net foreign currency reserves rose 1.3bn eur to 257.6bn in the week ending June 21. The rise was due to an increase of 3.7bn eur in receivables from the IMF, whereas other holdings in foreign currency decreased by 2.5bn…
BOJ intervenes to shore up dollar
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan stepped into the foreign exchange market Monday to shore up the dollar, which at one point rose by more than 1 yen to 122.80. The dollar later returned to the 121 yen level, as the invervention was seen as relatively modest. The…
Speech by David Dodge of Bank of Canada, 11 Jun
SPEECH - In a speech titled 'Trust, Transparency, and Financial Markets' Dodge told an audience in Nova Scotia that the Canadian economy's strong performance thus far in 2002 has exceeded the Bank's own forecasts.
Federal Reserve Board Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Joint Press Release by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 20 June.
Speech by Robert Parry, San Francisco Fed, 17 Jun
SPEECH - Parry said in a speech titled 'After the Recession: A Monetary Policymaker Looks Ahead' that "we're now in the midst of a modest expansion," after a shallow recession which probably ended in December or January.
When will MPC act?
LETTER - Letter published in the London Financial Times on 21 June from Stephen Walkley.
A group too big for intense monetary policy debate
LETTER - Letter published in the London Financial Times on 21 June from Michael Davenport.
Political pointers
LETTER - Letter published in the London Financial Times on 24 June from Maurice Fitzpatrick.
Is it too early to call an end to deflation?
ARTICLE - Prices have stopped falling and the balance of Bank of Japan banknotes circulating in the market is on a sharp rise. So is it too early to worry about the possibility of inflation asks the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper on Monday.
Geneva meet to debate Islamic mortgages
UK - A Bank of England working party, which includes representatives of commercial banks and the Treasury, is investigating the wider introduction of Shari'ah compliant house mortgages in the UK, according to the UK's Observer newspaper.
Thai bond plan seen as 'ambitious'
THAILAND - Thailand's plan to issue the equivalent of $18.5bn (£12.6bn) in baht bonds to pay for the central bank's massive losses from the 1997 crash are "very ambitious" and must be handled with care, said economists on Sunday.
China's e-banks gaining popularity
CHINA - At least 2.5m Chinese "netizens" - about 23 per cent of the country's regular Internet users - are likely to use electronic banking services, said a recent AC Nielsen survey on e-banking, reports the New China News Agency.
Brazil's central bank pays to keep money at home
BRAZIL - Brazil's central bank, seeking to stem an outflow of money from the country, offered banks the ability to swap local currency interest rates for dollar-linked yields.
US economy - Explaining outlook is Fed's challenge
FEATURE - Federal Reserve officials meet Tuesday and Wednesday to accomplish two tasks: to set the course of interest rates and outline a view on the U.S. economy.
South Korean c bank considering currency exchange
SOUTH KOREA - The South Korean central bank said Friday that it is preparing for the matter of converting South and North Korean won ready for eventual Korean unification.
US brings colour to new 'greenback' notes
US - The end of the greenback could be close, it is reported. The US government on Thursday announced plans to introduce other colours on dollar bills to help tourists tell the different notes apart.
Does a floating currency buy flexibility?
RESEARCH - ECB WORKING PAPER by Marcel Fratzscher, June 2002"The Euro bloc, the Dollar bloc and the Yen bloc: how much monetary policy independence can exchange rate flexibility buy in an interdependent world?"(ECB Working Paper No. 154), (pdf 416 kB).
Bank of Canada's promotional video
VIDEO - the Bank of Canada had released an online video detailing how the bank maintains the value of the Canadian dollar.
ECB sounds the alarm
ECB - The prospect of fudging the EU stability pact, which stipulates a 3% budget deficit ceiling for national governments, drew criticism from ECB officials on Thursday.
Canada- outspoken board member not re-appointed
CANADA - Raymond Garneau, a former Quebec Liberal finance minister, has not been reappointed to the the board of the Bank of Canada after he publicly called for Prime Minister Jean Chretien to resign.