Central Banks
Soros warns UK not to snub euro
UK - Billionaire investment guru George Soros has said that it is "impossible" for Britain to reject adoption of the euro.
UK shadow chancellor shifts on bank independence
UK - UK Chancellor Gordon Brown deserves "great credit" for his decision to give the Bank of England independence, Michael Howard has said.
The Japanese economy - Buying time
FEATURE - The Japanese government's latest package of emergency measures to prop up the ailing economy will not meet its goal of reining in the crippling deflation afflicting the nation's battered companies and debt-paralysed banks. But it will likely…
How long will Swiss SNB lay golden eggs?
FEATURE - The Swiss National Bank has decided to lay golden eggs for a while, but will the goose have the guts to say "no" once the party's over?
Heikensten says slower wage growth needed
SWEDEN - Sweden's membership of European economic and monetary union will demand a higher government budget surplus and lower wage increases, Lars Heikensten, deputy governor of Sweden's central bank told Dagens Nyheter Sunday.
Iran's c bank chief dismisses embezzlement claims
IRAN - Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has dismissed as "untrue" certain reports on embezzlement at CBI and said the claims are unfortunately raised by those who are unfamiliar with banking affairs.
A very big shoe to fill - A successor to Greenspan
FEATURE - The Economist magazine, 9 March, reports on the search to replace the chairman of the US Federal Reserve - Time to groom an heir for Alan Greenspan.
BIS-Central bankers see world economy improving
SWITZERLAND - Top central bankers see the world economy's prospects more positive than they did two months ago and expect key interest rates to rise only once a more broad-based recovery has been firmly established, Bank of England Governor Sir Edward…
Speech by Fed Reserve Governor Ed Gramlich, 7 Mar
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Macroeconomic Policy in Recessions--and Other Times' Gramlich said Government reaction to economic hard times should keep long-term strategy in mind, particularly when considering whether to launch a fiscal stimulus program.
Federal Reserve Board - Beige Book
REPORT - Prepared at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and based on information collected before February 26, 2002. This document summarizes comments received from business and other contacts outside the Federal Reserve and is not a commentary on the…
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 am Main, 7 March.
ECB Working Paper Series
RESEARCH - Non-standard central bank loss functions, skewed risks, and certainty equivalence, by Ali al-Nowaihi and Livio Stracca, February 2002.
Speech by U Backstrom of Sveriges Riksbank, 7 Mar
SPEECH - Backstrom said in the speech titled 'Swedens economy and monetary policy' that "if inflation, even disregarding the temporary effects, is above the target initially, activity is entering an upward phase and economic policy's impact on the…
Banks shun online sales pitch
UK - Britain's banks and building societies are turning away from the web in their search for new customers.
Zimbabwe election fears hit rand
SOUTH AFRICA - Less than a day ahead of Zimbabwe's bitterly contested presidential election, South Africa's currency is feeling the pinch.
US finance chief backs steel moves
US - US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill has rejected suggestions from Europe that America's push to protect the domestic steel industry is simply a matter of treating the symptoms of an overvalued dollar.
Central bankers forged together over steel tariffs
US - ECB president Wim Duisenberg and Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan both spoke yesterday of their disagreement with the US government's decision to impose tariffs on steel. US treasury secretary Paul O'Neill, however, came out in favour of the…
Swedish c bank chief says worried by inflation
SWEDEN - Sweden's central bank governor Urban Backstrom said on Thursday he shared the concern of many of his colleagues at the bank on inflation but said a rate rise should be postponed if an upturn was not certain.
Gramlich- fiscal stimulus should be reversible
US - A Federal Reserve official on Thursday said measures the government takes to ward off recession should meet several criteria, including being easily reversible.
Why Greenspan allowed irrational exuberance
FEATURE - Why Greenspan allowed irrational exuberance - The Federal Reserve's past reluctance to crack down on a runaway bull market raises questions about its remit.
New man taking over at head of Irish central bank
IRELAND - Irishman John Hurley becomes the newest member of the European Central Bank's governing council on Monday when he takes up the reins as governor of the Central Bank of Ireland.
China ctrl bk - Weak yen won't affect stable yuan
CHINA - The weakening Japanese yen won't force China's government to abandon its long-held policy of maintaining a stable yuan, a senior central bank economic researcher said Friday.
Why Central Banks Announce their Objectives
RESEARCH - Why Central Banks Announce their Objectives: Monetary Policy with Discretionary Signalling by Stefan Palmqvist of the University of California, Berkeley and Institute for International Economic Studies, Stockholm University.
Speech by Glenn Stevens of the RBA, 6 March
SPEECH - Stevens said in the speech titled 'Economic Performance and Issues in 2002' that "as best as we can judge, the economy is not only continuing to expand, but has reasonable prospects of continuing to do so in the near term".