Central Banks
Cavallo accuses cbank chief of sowing chaos
ARGENTINA - Argentine Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo on Apr 23 accused Central Bank chief Pedro Pou of trying to create chaos to divert attention from his own problems.
Argentina impact on Mexico not significant-Ortiz
MEXICO - Mexico's economy is not being significantly hurt by the turmoil gripping Argentina's financial markets, Banco de Mexico Governor Guillermo Ortiz said on Apr 23.
IMF urges Indonesia to maintain tight mon policy
INDONESIA - An IMF official has suggested that Bank Indonesia should be more flexible in adopting tight monetary, which is aimed at curbing the inflation and reducing pressure on the rupiah.
New Kenya cbank governor to focus on inflation
KENYA - Kenya's new central bank governor said on Apr 24 the bank's focus would remain on controlling inflation and addressing supply side constraints hindering economic growth.
BoJ to implement RTGS for foreign cbank JGB sales
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan said it will improve its infrastructure to enable Japanese government bond sales by foreign central banks to be settled under the real-time gross settlement system.
HKMA official not optimisic about Exchange Fund
HONG KONG - A Hong Kong Monetary Authority official said she was not optimistic about the investment return of the territory's Exchange Fund for 2001 because of volatility in the U.S. stock market.
Britain will escape global slowdown
UK - Details revealed in a leaked IMF report suggest that Britain will escape the worst of the global economic slowdown and will fare better than its european rivals.
IMF consultation approves Canada inflation target
CANADA - The International Monetary Fund said in a statement following its annual article IV consultation that there appeared to be no compelling reason for the Bank of Canada to change its inflation target.
Bank disclosure currently inadequate
EUROPE - Survey reveals banks still have ground to make up to meet disclosure requirements.
Costs of forex intervention - evidence from Sweden
ARTICLE - Boo Sjoo and Richard Sweeney have published an article "The foreign-exchange costs of central bank intervention: evidence from Sweden" in the latest issue of Journal of International Money and Finance. The study supports the view that the…
Speeches at the SNB's annual shareholder meeting
SPEECH - At the annual general meeting of the Swiss National Bank in Berne on Apr 20, the president of the Bank Council, Eduard Belser, and SNB chairman, Jean-Pierre Roth, both gave speeches to present the central bank's annual report. Belser reports on…
What is wrong with Taylor Rules?
ARTICLE - Lars Svensson, professor of economics at Stockholm University, has published an article "What is Wrong with Taylor Rules? Using Judgment in Monetary Policy through Targeting Rules". In the paper, Svensson says that Taylor Rules are an…
Permanent accommodation for the HKMA
ARTICLE - Joseph Yam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, in his weekly column on the HKMA website, says that the strong reaction from some politicians about the planned purchase, through the Exchange Fund, of a permanent office for the…
Argentina Cavallo to recommend removing Pou-papers
ARGENTINA -Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo will recommend the firing of Central Bank President Pedro Pou, local newspapers reported on Apr 22.
Solbes rebuffs O'Neill over interest rate cuts
EUROPE - European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes on Apr 23 raised the heat ahead of a meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers by rejecting U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill's prescription for the euro zone.
Bank of France sees Q1 consumer spending rebound
FRANCE - French consumer spending, seen as the nation's best buffer against the impact of international economic slowdown, is believed to have rebounded in the first quarter of 2001, the Bank of France said on Apr 23.
Bank of Israel strike postpones interest rate cut
ISRAEL - In an unprecedented move, the Bank of Israel said on Apr 22 that it would delay its May interest rate decision because an internal labour dispute has disrupted the flow of key statistical information and analsyis.
Czech cbanker sees no CPI impact from deficit
CZECH REPUBLIC - Czech central bank Vice-Governor Oldrich Dedek said on Apr 23 the poor state of public finances remains a concern but he expects to see no inflationary impact from it in 2001.
Gulf to make dollar peg to monetary union-report
BAHRAIN - Members of the Gulf Cooperation Council have agreed to adopt the U.S. dollar as the sole peg for a proposed single currency for the group, senior GCC official said in remarks published by Bahraini newspapers on Apr 22.
Yen weak vs dollar - ex-MOF Sakakibara-Kyodo
JAPAN - The yen is likely to remain weak against the dollar for the time being, Eisuke Sakakibara, a former vice finance minister for international affairs, said in an interview with Kyodo News this week.
EU president's statement after Ecofin meeting
EUROPE - Following is the text of an introductory statement by the European Union's Swedish president following the first session of the informal Ecofin meeting on Apr 21.
Eastern Europe, CIS face slower growth-EBRD report
EASTERN EUROPE - Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union face a sharp reduction in economic growth and a growing imperative to step up the pace of reform, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said on Apr 22.
Settlement system to remain in New Zealand
NEW ZEALAND - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced on Apr 18 that its plan to move the hardware used for inter-bank settlements in New Zealand to Sydney will not proceed.
Inflation targeting and the liquidity trap
ARTICLE - Bennett McCallum from the National Bureau of Economic Research has published an article on "Inflation Targeting and the Liquidity Trap". The paper says that 'liquidity trap' issues do not have an important bearing on the desirability of…