Central Banks
The recession that almost was
FEATURE - It is easy to dismiss the recent global downturn as a false alarm but policymakers should learn from it, says Kenneth Rogoff in Friday's Financial Times.
Summer changes expected on Bank's MPC committee
UK - Ian Plenderleith, a member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee since its first meeting in June 1997, is to retire when his term finishes at the end of May.
Central bank of Gambia to introduce new bank notes
GAMBIA - The Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) is to discontinue the practice of exchanging bank notes that are fit for reissue for new uncirculated bank notes to members of the public effective 15 April.
Norway c bank governor points to debt risk
NORWAY - Norway's central bank governor Svein Gjedrem reiterated on Friday that high credit growth posed a risk to the Norwegian oil-backed economy.
New Azeri coins commemorate medieval poet
AZERBAIJAN - The National Bank of Azerbaijan has issued two types of gold and silver commemorative coins of a face value of 100 and 50 manats respectively.
Argentine c bank says banks can release funds Jan
ARGENTINA - The Argentine Central Bank said on Friday it would allow commercial banks next January to release deposits which have been frozen in their vaults since late last year to the fury of depositors.
Estonian c bank end March reserves up 4.6 pct m/m
ESTONIA - The Estonian central bank said on Friday its gold and foreign currency reserves rose 4.6 percent to 13.9 billion kroons ($781.3 million) by the end of March versus 13.3 billion at end-February.
Fed's Poole confident of substantial US recovery
US - William Poole, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis., said that his confidence level that there will be a substantial U.S. economic recovery is "very high," barring "the possibility of some external shocks."
Good news for c bank but weaknesses continue
FEATURE - The Central Bank had quite a good day on 3 April, managing to hold the dollar down to 2.8 pesos but also increasing its reserves by 4m dollars.
Duma approves c bank management structure changes
RUSSIA - The State Duma, in debates on amendments to the Central Bank law in the second reading on Friday, voted to give the National Banking Council the powers of a management body at the Central Bank.
Applied Financial Economics research paper
RESEARCH - 'The impact of federal reserve intervention on exchange rate volatility: evidence from the futures markets' by Sanjay Ramchander and R. Raymond Sant.
Bank of England leaves key lending rate at 4.0 pct
UK - The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee on Thursday left its key lending rate unchanged at 4.0 percent for the fifth month in a row despite signs Europe's second biggest economy is recovering.
Bank of England News Release
NEWS RELEASE - Bank of England Maintains Interest Rates at 4.0%, 4 April.
Speech by Ian Macfarlane, Governor, RBA, 4 Apr
SPEECH - In a speech titled 'The Australian Economy: Past, Present and Future' Macfarlane said the central bank was under no pressure to rush a move on interest rates, seeking to dampen market speculation of an imminent rate rise.
Speech by M Moskow, President, Chicago Fed, 3 Apr
SPEECH - In his speech 'The Impact of Open Markets and Expanded Trade on Economic Development' the Chicago Fed chief noted that economists have recently become more bullish on the prospects for U.S. economic growth and said, "On balance, we believe the…
ECB holds key interest rate unchanged at 3.25 pct
GERMANY - The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, reinforcing expectations its easing cycle had ended with the euro zone economy now on track to recovery.
ECB Press Conference
PRESS CONFERENCE - Introductory statement by Willem F. Duisenberg, President of the European Central Bank, Christian Noyer, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt, 4 April.
ECB Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Monetary Policy Decisions, 4 April.
Credit card holders set to rise if BOT eases rule
THAILAND - The number of credit card holders is expected to increase significantly if the Bank of Thailand agrees to decrease the minimum monthly salary required to be a card member from 15,000 to 10,000 baht, according to executives in the banking…
Current crisis is nothing new to Argentina
LETTER - Letter from Professor Steve Hanke published in the US edition of the Financial Times, 4 April.
Aus PM welcomes RBA decision not to raise rates
AUSTRALIA - Prime Minister John Howard has welcomed the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision not to increase interest rates at its meeting today.
Japan prices to keep falling gradually - Hayami
JAPAN - Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Masaru Hayami said on Thursday he expected prices to continue to fall gradually as the economy deteriorated further although pressure from weak exports and excess inventories was easing.
China updates rules for bank's risk management
CHINA - China's central bank has updated guidelines on internal risk management in an attempt to further coax commercial banks into reducing credit risk.