Central Banks
US 'debt free' by 2030 - Alan Greenspan
Testifying on Mar 2, 2001 before the Committee on the Budget of the US House of Representatives, Fed chairman, Alan Greenspan, outlined the implications of the US goverment's extraordinaryly healthy fiscal position.
US think-tank to study cross-border settlement
The Group of Thirty, the private Washington-based think-tank, is to undertake a new study of securities clearing and settlement arrangements in global capital markets, with a particular emphasis on cross-border activity.
Venezuelan cbank to introduce interbank ref rates
The Central Bank of Venezuela is planning to introduce a new electronic interbank trading system that should result in the creation of interbank rates of reference and greater efficiencies in interbank lending.
Fiscal Federalism & European Integration-Gramlich
US Federal Reserve governor Edward M. Gramlich and Fed economist Paul R. Wood write the latest International Finance Discussion Paper titled "Fiscal Federalism and European Integration: Implications for Fiscal and Monetary Policies".
Case for Eurozone monetary indicators? - Svensson
In a Bank for International Settlements working paper "Money and inflation in the Euro Area: A case for monetary indicators?" Stefan Gerlach and Lars E O Svensson find that the "real money gap" (the gap between current real balances and long-run…
ECB surprises by leaving rates unchanged
The European Central Bank on Mar 1, 2001 surprised financial markets by leaving interest rates unchanged, showing that it was not yet ready to follow a series of recent rate cuts by the world's other top central banks.
OECD's Visco -Fed should not overreact to slowdown
The U.S. Federal Reserve should not cut interest rates too much in the face of its slowing economy in case this jeopardised price stability, the chief economist for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Ignazio Visco, warned on Mar 1.
Turkey seeks World Banker's help to recover
Senior Turkish World Banker Kemal Dervis arrived in Ankara on Mar 1, 2001 for talks with the prime minister that many are hoping will herald the formation of a new economic team capable of restoring calm.
Int'l Liquidity Illusion: Risks of Sterilization
Ricardo J. Caballero and Arvind Krishnamurthy from the National Bureau of Economic Research have written a paper "International Liquidity Illusion: On the Risks of Sterilization". This paper argues that sterlisation of capital inflows is ineffective when…
Did the Malaysian Capital Controls Work?-Kaplan
Ethan Kaplan and Dani Rodrik from the National Bureau of Economic Research have written an article "Did the Malaysian Capital Controls Work?" Compared to IMF programs, the authors find that the Malaysian policies produced faster economic recovery,…
Central Bank Seigniorage: Czech Republic 1993-1997
Jacek Cukrowski from the CERGE-EI and Emil Stavrev from the Czech National Bank have written an article "Central Bank Seigniorage: Czech Republic 1993-1997". The authors present a new comprehensive framework for measuring total gross seigniorage and its…
EMU and Enlargement: A Review of Policy Issues
Lucio Vinhas de Souza (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Holger van Eden (NEI), Albert de Groot (NEI), Gerbert Romijn (NEI) and Elisabeth Ledrut (Dutch Central Bank) have co-authored a report "EMU and Enlargement: A Review of Policy Issues". This report is…
Greenspan testimony-unsure about consumer optimism
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan offered a gloomier assessment of the U.S. economic outlook when he testified to the House Financial Services Committee on Feb 28, 2001, suggesting he no longer is sure that consumer confidence is strong enough to…
BOJ cuts rates on weak economy, deflation fears
The Bank of Japan surprised financial markets and pleased politicians on Feb 28, 2001 by cutting its key interest rates in response to a sudden turn for the worse in the world's second-largest economy.
NZ govt monetary review suggests adopting MPC
A government review of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's monetary policy by Swedish academic Professor Lars Svensson recommended the setting up of a formal monetary policy committee and altering the RBNZ's inflation objective to more formally target 1.5…
Korean payment system to operate in Vietnam
The Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute (KFIC) said on Feb 28 it will hold a ceremony on Mar 6 to mark the operation of a Korean-designed inter-bank payment system that was recently installed at the State Bank of Vietnam.
BOJ says to launch new loan facility on March 16
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) said on Feb 28 it would launch its new standby Lombard-type lending facility on March 16.
S.Africa's Mboweni not worried by Jan CPIX rise
South Africa's central bank governor Tito Mboweni said on Feb 28, 2001 he was not worried by an unexpected rise in the bank's targeted inflation measure during January 2001, and he still expected its target to be met by 2002.
IMF, Kenya to negotiate on reform package
An IMF team will visit Kenya next month to push for further reforms to put the country's aid programme back on track, officials said on Feb 28, 2001.
IMF urges UK maintain cautious fiscal stance
The IMF strongly approves of the UK's current monetary and fiscal policy framework saying that it has contributed to the longest period of sustained non-inflationary output growth in 30 years, but warned Chancellor Gordon Brown not to loosen the public…
East Timor - Central bank precursor inaugurated
The East Timor Central Payments Office, expected to become the territory's central bank, was officially inaugurated Feb 28 by Sergio Vieira de Mello, the chief of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor.
Card-based payment systems in US and Japan-IMES
Ronald J. Mann, a visiting scholar at the Bank of Japan, has written a paper entitled "Card-based payment systems in the United States and Japan". He explains why credit and debit cards have so far proved unsuccessful in Japan compared to the US, and…
Technological Innovation and Banking Industry-BoJ
The Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies at the Bank of Japan has published a final report based on a forum the bank held in Dec 1997 on "Technological Innovation and Banking Industry/Monetary Policy". The report looks at the development of…
Selected IMF working papers published
The IMF has recently published a number of working papers on subjects ranging from inflation targeting, central bank independence, to endogenous growth. Links to the papers are given.