News
ADB: Malaysian ringgit peg reform long overdue
The Asian Development Bank's top economist said on Tuesday 3 May that it is time for Malaysia to relax its currency peg and strong economic fundamentals will allow the country to adopt a more flexible exchange rate fairly smoothly.
OECD chief says dollar fall is no shock
OECD Secretary General Donald Johnston said on Monday 2 May there was no reason to be shocked by the fall of the dollar against the euro and that developed countries had failed to prepare for a surge in Chinese textile exports.
IMF appoints new director of evaluation office
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund has offered Thomas Bernes of Canada the position of Director of the IMF's Independent Evaluation Office, and he has accepted the Board's offer, the IMF said on Monday 25 April.
Bank of PNG appoints deputy governor
The Bank of Papua New Guinea recently announced the appointment of Mr Loi Martin Bakani to the position of Deputy Governor Policy and Regulations. His term is for five years.
HKMA appoints deputy chief executive
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced on Tuesday 26 April that the Financial Secretary has approved the appointment of Mr Y. K. Choi as Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA. Two other appointments were also made, which will all take effect on 1 June.
Sweden leaves repo rate unchanged at 2 per cent
At its meeting on 28 April, the Executive Board of the Sveriges Riksbank decided to leave the repo rate unchanged at 2 per cent. Inflation, measured in terms of UND1X, is expected to be in line with the Riksbank's target a couple of years ahead, the bank…
Interview with Bank Indonesia's deputy governor
In an interview published this week, Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor Miranda Gultom said the central bank is preparing to introduce new money-market instruments to address the alarming sag in the local currency and perceived shortcomings of present…
What has Trichet achieved as the ECB's President?
Jean-Claude Trichet has now been president of the ECB for eighteen months, and if you measure his performance by the narrow mandate of price stability, then he has done his job, this article says. Yet if you were to gauge his performance by a wider…
No plan for imminent yuan reform says PBOC
China has no plans to revalue its currency, the yuan, during next week's Labour Day holiday, a People's Bank of China spokesman was quoted as saying on Friday 29 April, quashing rumours that such a change was imminent.
Report says Fed likely to hike rates again
The U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to raise the target for its key short-term interest rate to 3 percent from 2.75 percent when its rate-setting committee meets on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal said on Friday 29 April.
Kansas Fed's Hoenig praises entrepreneurs
As much as half the economic growth in the United States has come from entrepreneurial ventures, the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said on Thursday 28 April.
Bangladesh Bank gets new chief
The Bangladesh government has appointed Salehuddin Ahmed as the new governor of the country's Central Bank, the Zee News website reported on Friday 29 April.
ECB faces criticism from Germany, Italy
The European Central Bank came under fire this week when senior German and Italian politicians called on the eurozone central bank to change its policies to help boost Europe's weak economic growth rate.
Integrated markets should boost growth says Weber
More integration of financial markets should give Europe's long-term growth prospects a much-needed boost, European Central Bank Governing Council member Axel Weber said on Thursday 28 April.
Bofinger named favourite to replace Issing at ECB
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government hasn't decided yet who will succeed European Central Bank Chief Economist Otmar Issing when he retires next year, government spokesman Bela Anda said Friday, after reports named Peter Bofinger as a…
Fischer to begin at Bank of Israel on Sunday
Stanley Fischer is scheduled to start his new job as the governor of the Bank of Israel on Sunday 1 May.
Ecuadoran congress fires central bank directors
The Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE) was left leaderless on Thursday 28 April after the National Congress dismissed the members of its board, the BBC Monitoring Service reported.
RBNZ leaves rates unchanged at 6.75%
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left the OCR unchanged at 6.75 per cent on Thursday 28 April. In a statement RBNZ governor Alan Bollard said underlying inflation pressures are persisting, as evidenced by rising business costs and ongoing labour market…
ECB's Trichet calls for debate on company profits
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet has called for a European debate on the way company profits are distributed.
Fed's Gramlich on federal /state lending standards
Federal Reserve Governor Edward Gramlich said on Wednesday 27 April that creating federal standards to combat predatory lending will not necessarily lead to a safer system for consumers.
Calls for curb on Brazil's central bank autonomy
Severino Cavalcanti, the president of Brazil's lower house of congress, has said he wants to remove the power of the central bank to independently set interest rates.
Fukui says policy may not change with positive CPI
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui said Thursday the central bank would not necessarily abandon its ultra-easy credit policy once the core consumer price index stops falling.
Russian central bank to increase euro weighting
The Central Bank of Russia plans to increase the euro's weighting in its bi-currency basket to 0.3 soon, CB First Deputy Chairman Alexei Ulyukayev told a press conference on Tuesday 26 April.
Buba's Weber says Q1 growth high
Bundesbank President Axel Weber said on Tuesday 26 April that Germany's economic growth in the first quarter was likely the "strongest" in the year, and is estimated to have posted "roughly about 0.5 pct" GDP growth.