Central Banks
IMF: South Korea's upgrade
SOUTH KOREA- Ajai Chopra, the IMF's assistant director for Asia and the Pacific said the sovereign rating upgrade for South Korea by Standard & Poor's Corp. Tuesday was "entirely deserved".
Speech by John Odling-Smee of the IMF
SPEECH - Speech by John Odling-Smee, Director, European II Department, IMF, given at the Belarusian Academy of Management, Minsk, 6 November.
Academics: Trust in Greenspan led to stock crash
ARTICLE - Investor confidence in the 'superhuman' ability of Fed chairman Alan Greenspan to shelter the stock market contributed to its over-valuation and eventual crash, economists argued in an academic paper out this week.
Japan's economy set for biggest decline in 20 year
JAPAN - The Japanese economy is set for its most dramatic decline in at least 20 years, the government has admitted.
EU: G10 ctrl bks see 2002 econ recovery
SWITZERLAND - "Uncertainty," according to Bank of England Governor Eddie George, was the most frequently used word Monday by the central bank heads of the Group of 10 nations in discussing the prospects for the world economy.
SNB sold 7.7 tons gold in 10-day period to 9 Nov
SWITZERLAND - The Swiss National Bank said Monday its gold reserves fell CHF116 million to CHF33.79 billion in the 10-day reporting period to 9 November.
ECB's Padoa Schioppa sees no more cuts now
ITALY - Tommaso Padoa Schioppa, a member of the European Central Bank's council, said he doesn't see the euro-zone central bank cutting interest rates again in the foreseeable future, according to an interview with La Repubblica Saturday.
Argentine ctrl bk moves to fight drop in deposits
ARGENTINA - Argentina's central bank will order local banks to repatriate $1.9 billion of the loan loss reserve funds they have deposited in a Deutschebank account in New York City to inject more funds into the nation's money markets and keep interest…
Speech by Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa of the ECB
SPEECH - This speech is only available to read in Italian - 12 settembre: Il mondo non e' al punto zero, Lezione di Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Universita di Padova, 26 Ottobre 2001.
Monetary policy report from the RBA
REPORT - Statement on Monetary Policy from the Reserve Bank of Australia, November 2001.
IMF and World Bank joint statement
STATEMENT - IMF and World Bank Heads Call for a New Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations at Doha, Koehler and Wolfensohn urge Ministers to put developing countries at the center of the agenda.
Brazil c bank mulls use of derivatives on forex
BRAZIL - Brazil's central bank is considering the use of derivatives to intervene on the foreign-exchange market as of May 2002, daily O Estado de S. Paulo said Thursday.
Hayami: No talk of monetary policy at econ council
JAPAN - Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami said after a meeting of the government's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy on Friday that the council did not discuss monetary policy.
Russian central bank gold deal with private bank
RUSSIA - Alfa Bank plans this year to buy nearly 30 tonnes of gold and 200 tonnes of silver, a bank source said.
George: Cen banks have more ammo to fuel growth
SWITZERLAND - The global economy will take longer to rebound than expected just before the 11 September attacks on the United States, Bank of England Governor Sir Edward George said on Monday.
Australia's 'empty' economic agenda
AUSTRALIA - On its first working day after its re-election at the weekend, Australia's government was handed an upbeat assessment of the economy from the central bank, after a campaign that lacked almost any debate on the issue.
ECB Press Conference - Introductory Statement
PRESS CONFERENCE - Willem F. Duisenberg, President of the European Central Bank, Christian Noyer, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt, 8 November. With a transcript of the questions and answers.
Federal Open Market Committee - Minutes
MINUTES - Minutes of the 2 October meeting. A meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee was held in the offices of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday 2 October 2001, at 9:00 a.m.
BIS Press Release
REPORT - Basel Committee Joint Forum releases cross-sectoral reports, 7 November.
Bleak outlook for Asian growth
ASIA - The era of the "Asian Tigers" is over, at least for the next 12 months, as economic growth in Asia slows sharply in the wake of 11 September.
Security hole in cash machines
UK - A serious weakness has been discovered in the methods used by banks to protect the personal identification number (Pin) that lets you get money from a cash machine.
Blow to Argentina debt plan
ARGENTINA - The prospects of Argentina defaulting on its overseas debt have grown after opposition-led provinces voted against a new austerity plan.
Inflation no longer a threat to eurozone
EUROPE - Wim Duisenberg, president of the European Central Bank, said yesterday, Thursday, the bank's decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points to 3.25 per cent reflected both a need to prop up battered confidence, and the bank's belief that…
FOMC: 'Mild and short contraction' of US econ seen
US - Federal Reserve policymakers expect a "relatively mild and short" U.S. recession, but they're inclined to keep cutting interest rates to banish the prospect of a nastier downturn, minutes of their recent policy meetings suggest.