Central Banks
Crisis mgmt hit by joining euro, UK Lords say
The government's ability to manage the economy in a crisis could be hamstrung if Britain joins the euro, a House of Lords committee warned today.
Nigeria parliament urged to legislate on e-banking
The Nigerian National Assembly has been called upon to pass appropriate legislation that will address the problem of fraud and other peculiarities of electronic banking, if Nigeria must enjoy full benefits of e-banking.
Czech c.bank less concerned over crown strength
The Czech central bank is less concerned over the strength of the crown currency as the country's economic recovery grows more robust, CNB vice governor Ludek Niedermayer said in an interview on Friday.
Swiss franc ends off lows after SNB holds fire
The Swiss franc ended off lows against the dollar after the Swiss National Bank left interest rates unchanged, as expected, and said it detected no major inflationary pressure on the horizon.
Kenyan rate bill MP wants cenbank chief to go
A Kenyan parliamentarian whose controversial bill to control commercial bank interest rates was passed by parliament this week now wants the country's central bank governor to resign.
SNB to publish studies to explain forecasts
Swiss National Bank chairman Hans Meyer said on Friday the bank intended to publish several studies in the near future which would explain its forecasting activities in some detail.
Banker confirms downturn of Costa Rican economy
The President of the Central Bank of Costa Rica, Eduardo Lizano, confirmed Friday a dramatic deceleration of economy with GDP growth down to 1.4% this year from 8.2% of the year before.
ECB head sees rosy future for euro
The president of the European Central Bank, Wim Duisenberg, has spoken about a turnaround in euro exchange rates for the first time, telling Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun in an interview in Frankfurt that the European currency could keep rising.
Ecuador awaits IMF visit to review econ program
A team from the International Monetary Fund will arrive in Ecuador in the next few days to evaluate the country's macroeconomic program.
Fed's Kelley warns of excessive US slowing risk
US Federal Reserve governor Edward Kelley said on Friday the central bank was closely watching the risks of an excessive slowdown as the world's top economy moves to a less inflation-prone rate of expansion.
No need to return to zero-rate policy - Miyazawa
Japanese finance minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Friday he does not think the Bank of Japan needs to restore its zero-interest-rate policy, although the economy needs to be watched carefully in the areas of personal consumption and employment.
CNB chief, deputy minister assess joining Eurozone
The date of the Czech Republic joining the European monetary union remains unclear. It depends on the speed of the Czech Republic moving closer to the EU, on political decisions and on the harmonisation of legal systems. This was stated by Czech National…
Klein: Violence won't alter Israel monetary policy
David Klein, the governor of the Bank of Israel, gave a speech today in which he reiterated his view that the current unrest in Israel will not result in a change in current Bank of Israel monetary policy.
Welteke plays down EMU warnings ahead of Nice
Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke on Thursday played down his earlier warnings about allowing eastern European countries into the Eurozone too soon, just as a difficult summit on EU enlargement started in Nice.
Fraga says Brazil inflation on target in 2001
Brazil's central bank president Arminio Fraga said on Thursday that inflation in Latin America's biggest economy was on track at 4% for 2001, despite a pending new minimum wage increase.
RBI governor favours flexible inflation target
Central bank inflation targets should be flexible to allow for varying economic conditions, Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan said Thursday.
Welteke - cannot say yet if euro turned around
Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke on Thursday said he could not tell whether the euro has already turned the corner, adding that the currency's further performance depended on US economic growth.
Riksbank hikes rates, policy stance to neutral
The Riksbank said that its 25 basis point hike that raised the repo rate to 4.0% Thursday was based on its new assessment that inflation would rise above the central bank's 2% limit in two year's time in the absence of tighter monetary policy.
Fujiwara-Can't say if return to zero rate possible
Bank of Japan deputy governor Sakuya Fujiwara said on Thursday he could not say whether it was possible to return to a policy of guiding the key overnight call rate virtually to zero.
Macedonia seeks bigger share of Yugoslav gold
Governor of the Central Bank of Macedonia Ljube Trpeski said that Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina will request the Bank for International Settlements in Basel to change the formula for sharing of foreign currency reserves in gold of the former National…
Nigeria pressurises banks to reduce interest rates
The Central Bank of Nigeria has mounted pressure on commercial and merchant banks to reduce their lending interest rates.
Lithuania should keep currency board - NBP chief
Lithuania should keep the currency board model as long as the situation of country's economy is unclear, the president of the Polish central bank said in the Vilnius conference on Thursday.
Summers welcomes IMF aid for Turkey
The United States on Wednesday welcomed a $10 billion rescue package agreement between the International Monetary Fund and Turkey, saying that its financial stability was important to the US.