News
Cricketing King's unlikely heroes
When Mervyn King was the guest of honour last week at the lunch-time chat on BBC Radio 4's cricket programme "Test Match Special", he revealed his affection for - and knowledge of - the game as well as a certain ambition for socialite status. The…
Zimbabwe's central bankers urged to go
Things aren't getting any less desperate in Zimbabwe, which is in the thick of a crippling cash crisis, now that parliament is demanding that the central bank management just leave.
Donald Winn passes away
Fed old-timer Donald Winn sadly died at the age of 66 with pancreatic cancer after faithfully serving the central bank for almost half of his life. With 30 years on the clock, Winn had proved a precious asset to no less than four chairmen, in charge of…
RBNZ buys BIS shares
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand today announced that it had accepted an offer to become a shareholder in the BIS. The cost of the BIS shareholding is approximately NZ$100m (almost US$60m,) which has been raised from the Reserve Bank's balance sheet. In…
European inflation dips below ECB's target
Inflation in the eurozone dipped below 2% for July, according to Eurostat. The figure of 1.9% was down from 2% in June, helped by a 0.2% drop in prices - the largest monthly fall in two years, reports the Financial Times.
Swedish cabinet split over euro decision
The Swedish government, already split over whether to join the euro, was headed for crisis on Tuesday amid reports of an imminent cabinet reshuffle, reports Eubuisiness.com. The national referendum on whether to join the single currency is to be held on…
Political support needed for Africa currency union
Africa's central bank governors gathered together to discuss the possibility of forming a regional currency union, but concluded that however desirable and technically feasible it may be, it cannot be done without the support of politicians, reported the…
Balcerowicz urges fiscal reform in Poland
Polish central bank governor Leszek Balcerowicz has urged the government to undertake serious fiscal reform measures, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. If Poland is to avoid repeating Argentina's mistakes, there is a simple choice: "Either tolerance…
What is a central bank governor worth?
CentralBankNet's Monday Special reveals the going rate for the job of central bank governor.
Buenaventura wins president's support to appeal
Philippine central bank chief Rafael Buenaventura has won the support of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo following a court ruling to suspend him for a year, according to Agence France-Presse. Although Buenaventura should be able to appeal, she does not…
Serbian National Bank loan to boost govt budget
Bozidar Djelic, Serbian finance minister, today announced in an interview with the Belgrade financial daily Pregled that the government will take out a loan with the Serbian National Bank in September to boost the budget reports B92. The announcements…
Zimbabwe limits currency holdings
Zimbabwe has outlawed of individuals holding cash exceeding five million Zimbabwean dollars (US$6,250) in another attempt to halt the cash crisis, reports the Sunday Times in South Africa.
Arminio Fraga hedges his bets
Investors have been scrumming to get a piece of the action as Arminio Fraga, Brazil's ex-central bank governor and former employee of George Soros, is starting his own hedge fund. "It's going well," says Fraga, and great things are expected, according to…
Nigerian cb branded reckless and inefficient
The central bank in Nigeria has been denounced for its "recklessness and managerial inefficiency" by a member of the House of Representatives, which he says explains the sorry state of the banking sector, according to a report in the Daily Champion,…
Indian economy on the mend, says Jalan
Outgoing governor of India's central bank, Bimal Jalan, believes that strong economic fundamentals will clear the way for a higher growth rate and ease the way to full convertibility of the rupee, according to Asia Pulse.
No intervention to halt peso slide
The central bank of the Philippines did not intervene in the currency markets on Friday morning, August 15, despite the peso's dipping below the level of 55 to the dollar, said Amando Tetangco Jr, a deputy governor, according to INQ7.net.
RBI cautious over foreign borrowing
The Reserve Bank of India sounded a note of caution over unlimited access to short-term external commercial borrowings by businesses to fund working capital and other domestic requirements, according to a report by rediff.com.
MAS to push ahead with bond issue
Despite concerns from some investors that the market is saturated,the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced that it intends to go ahead with plans to issue a new 15-year government bond, reports ChannelNewsAsia.
SARB cuts interest rate by one percentage point
Tito Mboweni, South African Reserve Bank governor, said the committee had to strike a "careful balance" in determining monetary policy, according to allafrica.com, as he explained yesterday's one percentage point cut in interest rates.
UAE central bank profit falls by 50%
The net profit of the central bank of the United Arab Emirates fell by over 50%for the year 2002 to Dh528 million from Dh1.1 billion in 2001, according to a report by Menaf.com. The central bank cited a sharp fall in the bank's treasury operations,…
The ECB's mission statement
Five years after its creation the ECB has decided it needs a mission statement. Its main objective is, of course, price stability, with "integrity, competence, efficiency and transparency" as its watchwords. But there is no place in the two paragraphs,…
Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 25 June 2003, released 13 August. Members exchanged views on a numerical target for price stability. One member stressed that the Bank should make a stronger commitment to overcome deflation, and…
Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 14 and 15 July 2003, released 13 August. A different member said that the main feature of the Bank's policy commitment was that the policy duration changed flexibly, and thus the expected duration…
Norges Bank comments on key rate reduction
Norges Bank held a press conference on 13 August after its decision to reduce the key rate by 1.0 percentage point. Developments in the Norwegian and international economy since the previous monetary policy meeting have been approximately in line with…