News
HKMA and Insurance Authority sign MoU
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Insurance Authority (IA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) which aims to enhance the co-operation, exchange of information and mutual assistance between the two authorities.
Warning issued over UK money laundering directive
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants warned the UK Treasury on Monday 29 September, according to the Financial Times, that the new money laundering directive, due to come into force in January, may swamp the National Criminal Intelligence…
EU sees more signs of economic recovery
The EU's third quarter economic report released on Tuesday 30 September expressed optimism in the euro zone economy but warned of risks to the recovery, reports Associated Press. "Recent data have begun to send out encouraging signals suggesting that the…
Eurozone inflation remains above 2.0pc
Provisional figures for eurozone inflation released on Tuesday 30 September showed that the rate remained above the ECB's target at 2.1%, according to BizWorld. Ireland had the highest rate of inflation in August, at 3.9pc, followed by Greece and Spain…
PBOC clarifies policy role and responsibilities
The People's Bank of China spelled out its monetary policy role and gave a detailed description of its responsibilities in a fourteen point statement posted on its web site on Tuesday 30 September and reported by China Daily. The statement specified its…
South Korea relaxes rules on credit cards
In a move designed to boost the recession-hit economy, South Korea relaxed credit card rules on Tuesday 30 September, according to AFP, allowing firms to extend the maturity of loans while putting off next year's deadline to bring their cash advances…
IMF: Bank of Israel independence will help growth
IMF first deputy managing director Anne Krueger expressed great interest in the proposed changes in the Bank of Israel Law last week in a meeting with Governor David Klein, according to a report by Globes Online. She said that, based on the IMF's…
Greece to mint 2 euro coin to help fund Olympics
Bank of Greece governor Nicholas Garganas announced on Monday 29 September that Greece will issue a commemorative 2 euro coin, according to a reporrt by Associated Press. Proceeds from the sale of coins will be used to help fund the 2004 Olympics which…
Mboweni calls for clarity on SARB's duties on rand
Tito Mboweni has called for the South African Reserve Bank's constitution to be changed so that the central bank's objectives can be clarified, according to a report by Business Day. Mboweni insisted that the bank's primary objective was to achieve price…
ECB: 'No comment' on Japan's MOF selling yen
A spokesman for the European Central Bank declined to comment on Japan's Ministry of Finance statement that it had sold yen heavily in the foreign exchange markets on Tuesday 30 September, according to Reuters.
San Francisco Fed on Robert Parry's retirement
San Francisco Fed statement, 25 September, on Robert Parry's decision to retire in June 2004. The Chairman of the Board of Directors said "Bob's leadership of the Bank, his contributions to the communities we serve, and his monetary policy expertise will…
Persson: Swedish economy after the EMU referendum
Deputy Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank Kristina Persson gave a speech on 29 September at the Business Economists club in Sundsvall under the heading "The Swedish economy after the EMU referendum". She said in the longer term, her personal conviction is…
Report says Korean bank notes last longer
A report produced by the Bank of Korea says Korean bank notes are more durable than paper money from the USA, Canada and Britain, according to a report by Digital Chosun. The average durability of a W10,000 note was 54 months, much longer than the 18…
Boston Fed's Minehan: recovery should be sustained
In her first detailed comments on the economy since March, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Cathy Minehan said, according to Reuters, that consumer spending seems to be on pace to grow by 4 percent this quarter, and business spending should…
Economist Franco Modigliani dies aged 85
Franco Modigliani, winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1985, has died aged 85, according to the Financial Times. Modigliani made major contributions to macroeconomics - particularly the "life-cycle" savings hypothesis and taught at MIT from 1962…
Tito Mboweni addresses threats to inflation target
South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Friday 26 September, according to Finance 24, that the SARB still had much to do to conquer inflation expectations in the country, which at between 8% and 9% were currently far higher than the…
Politician calls for Bank of Canada investigation
An opposition politician in Canada has called for a full investigation by the government into the role Bank of Canada governor David Dodge may have played in a financial scandal which emerged while Dodge was deputy minister for health, Reuters reports.
Greenspan says education needed to combat fraud
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Friday 26 September that the financial marketplace has grown increasingly complex since four decades ago, when all Americans needed to know was how to write a check and open a savings account, according to…
France facing heavy fines over budget excesses
EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes said on Monday 29 September that unless France changed its budget plans for 2004 by next week it faced heavy fines. according to Ireland Online."We are considering a specific set of recommendations to France,…
Fake euro coins hit Belgium
The National Bank of Belgium has found its first fake euro coins, according to Expatica News. The coins were discovered when a batch was returned to the central bank as stock. The fake one and two euros were described by the Treasury as of very high…
Swiss Nat Bank to sell 284 tonnes gold by Sep 2004
The Swiss National Bank said on Friday 26 September that it plans to sell 284 tonnes of gold from excess reserves by the end of September 2004 and aims to offload another 130 tonnes in 2005, according to a report by Reuters.
San Francisco Fed's Parry to retire in June
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Robert Parry is to retire in June 2004, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. No successor was named to Parry, who turns 65 in May, but the bank said that it has begun a nationwide search for a…
Russian central bank awards accountancy contract
The central bank of Russia has awarded a contract to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, Reuters reports. The aim of the project, led by PriceWaterHouse Coopers, is to increase the efficiency of the Russian central bank through the…
Brazil's cen bank: Economy showing recovery signs
The Banco Central do Brasil has said that the economy is showing signs of recovery and that they now view inflation as a lesser of the threats to the country's economy, according to MENAFN.