Central Banks
G7 to review global economy at Palermo fortress
When the world's leading financial barons meet in Sicily this weekend [Feb 16, 2001] to review their armoury for spurring the global economy, they will do so at a site chosen as a strategic look-out point dating back more than 2,000 years. Finance…
Venezuelan fin min-cbank won't fix interest rates
Venezuelan Finance Minister Jose Rojas reiterated Feb 13, 2001 that the central bank won't fix credit and deposit rates in the banking sector. "The central bank is not going to fix rates," Rojas said in a televised interview. In a nod toward the monetary…
Bank of Canada cuts growth forecast
Canada's central bank said officially for the first time on Feb 13, 2001 that the U.S. economic slowdown may cut Canada's growth rate to below 3 percent, but it remained positive about the country's economic prospects. "Primarily because of the spillover…
Greenspan said the U.S. was not in recession
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Feb 13, 2001 the U.S. economy was not in a recession but may face a rocky transition as it downshifts from super-charged growth rates of the past several years. When asked point-blank in a Senate Banking…
BIS urges vigilance on asset bubbles
It's time for central bankers to get tough on bubbles, according to a top official at the Bank for International Settlements. Overly high stock and property prices should prompt central bankers to take interest rate action in the same way rising wage…
Optimal Degrees of Transparency in Mon Pol-Jensen
"Optimal Degrees of Transparency in Monetary Policymaking" is a new discussion paper by Henrik Jensen published by the Centre for Economic and Policy Research in London. He discusses the advantages and disadvantages of transparency. A good paper for all…
Do Monetary Handcuffs Restrain Leviathan?-A. Rose
A new discussion paper called "Do Monetary Handcuffs Restrain Leviathan? Fiscal Policy in Extreme Exchange Rate Regimes" by Andrew K Rose , Antonio Fatas, has just been published by the Centre for Economic and Policy Research. It looks at case studies of…
IMF-WB-ADB in bailout package for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has been promised a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help shore up depleted foreign exchange reserves, Central Bank officials said. The officials, who declined to be named,…
RBA upbeat but says U.S. still main risk
Australia's central bank painted a cautious picture of the economy on Feb 12, 2001, saying domestic growth had slowed and much depended on the outlook for the United States. Less than a week after slashing official interest rates by half a percentage…
HKMA Background Brief No.1: HK Linked ER System
Since 1983 the Hong Kong dollar has been linked to the US dollar at the rate of HK$7.8 to one US dollar. The link is maintained through the operation of a strict and robust currency board system. This booklet published by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority…
BIS cbankers expect world economy to pick up
Central bankers meeting in Hong Kong on Feb 12, 2001 agreed that the global economy is now slowing but will return to growth in the second half of 2001, said an official who briefed reporters. Andrew Crockett, general manager of the Bank for…
Kazakh currency expected to devalue 5% in 2001
Kazakhstan's currency, the tenge, will not devalue by more than 5-6% this year, National Bank head Grigory Marchenko told Interfax news agency. He said that Inflation is targeted to drop to 6-8% this year from 9.8% in 2000. The central bank will be able…
Fed's Minehan sees 2001 U.S. growth near 2 pct
Boston Federal Reserve President Cathy Minehan said on Feb 12, 2001 she expects U.S. economic growth to start accelerating again later in 2001, helped by the central bank's January 2001 rate cuts."I expect activity to increase later in the year, and…
Zimbabwe says to lift forex directive on Feb 15
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said on Feb 12, 2001 a directive to commercial banks to sell all foreign currency from clients' export earnings to the central bank or the state oil company would be lifted on Feb 15. "This directive has been issued as a…
ECB Hamalainen-Eurozone needs structural changes
The euro zone still needs to make further strides in structural changes if it is to see a potential economic growth rate similar to that of the U.S., European Central Bank executive board member Sirkka Haemaelaeinen said on Feb 12, 2001. "Certainly, we…
CNB not to undershoot target again- Frait
The Czech National Bank (CNB) should not undershoot its inflation target in 2001 again and must react in time, said Jan Frait, a member of the CNB Bank board. "There is probably no danger that we undershoot the target once again, otherwise it could be a…
West African Monetary Institute gets officers
The Committee of Governors of the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) has appointed four of the five senior officers to work with the Institute's Director-General, M.O. Ojo, a statement from the ECOWAS Secretariat said in Abuja on Feb 12. According to…
Peter Nicholl - Success of Bosnia payment system
BiH Central Bank Governor writes about the successful introduction of new payments system in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He says it is the result of teamwork Vice Governor Kemal Kozaric. He said that it was an historical day for BH. Foreign currency reserves…
Zimbabwe orders banks to remit forex to cenbank
The government of Zimbabwe has directed commercial banks to remit 75 percent of their foreign currency to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe until further notice, bank officials said on Feb 10."There was a directive yesterday to the effect that banks should…
Japan cuts interest rates
The Bank of Japan has decided to cut its largely symbolic discount interest rate to 0.35% from 0.5%. However, Japan's key interest rate, called the overnight call rate, has been kept at 0.25%. The Bank of Japan (BoJ), led by governor Masaru Hayami, has…
Buba Stark-EU fin min council should censure Irish
Ireland should be censured by the full council of European Union finance ministers, for not adhering to its commitment to tighter fiscal policy, Deutsche Bundesbank Vice President Juergen Stark said on Feb. 9, according to German newspaper Boersen…
Greek cbank says no sales of euros to restructure
Greece's central bank said on Feb. 9, 2001 that it had not been selling euros as part of a restructuring of its foreign reserves but that some payment in foreign exchange had been made on behalf of the Greek government. "All these rumours that the Bank…
US plan to widen euro debt holding is logical-ECB
The European Central Bank said on Feb 9, 2001 plans by the U.S. monetary authorities to widen their holdings of government securities in the euro zone to include countries other than Germany were a logical step following the arrival of the euro. "This is…
Russia Duma ratifies single currency with Belarus
The Russia State Duma budget committee on Feb 9, 2001 decided to recommend that the lower house of parliament ratify the agreement between Russia and Belarus on the introduction of a single currency and on setting up a single monetary emissions center…