News
Sharp fall in UK inflation revealed
UK - The headline rate of UK inflation, which includes mortgage interest payments, fell last month by 0.4 of a percentage point to 1.7%.
Conference targets terror funds
CANADA - An international conference on money laundering opens in Montreal late on Monday 15 October, aimed at helping countries harmonise their approaches to tackling the issue.
Bank of Japan issues grim outlook
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan, as widely expected, downgraded its assessment of the economy, citing a continued tumble in output and exports, deteriorating job and income conditions, and an increasingly bleak economic outlook following the 11 September…
Japan's central bank warns on economy
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan has warned that the country's economy is facing "more severe" adjustments, with the "terrorist attacks in the US... further [heightening] uncertainty".
Banks tighten monitoring use of capital in Taiwan
TAIWAN - Many banks in Taiwan will further tighten monitoring the movements of funds lent to enterprises to prevent borrowers from wiring the money they get from the banks abroad and then left their debts in Taiwan.
Poland's Miller denies plan to curb central bank
POLAND - Poland's Prime Minister designate Leszek Miller denied in a radio interview that his future coalition government had agreed to curb the central bank's independence if it does not cut interest rates by 600 basis points over the next six months,…
Japan's policy board keep monetary policy same
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan's policy board voted Friday 12 October to keep monetary policy unchanged, brushing aside mounting domestic and international pressure for the BOJ to flood the banking system with more cash to help support the sagging economy.
Duisenberg calls for 12 more months as ECB leader
GERMANY - Wim Duisenberg has virtually ruled out any prospect that he would step down as European Central Bank president halfway through his term by making clear he wanted to stay in his job for at least the next 12 months.
Vietnam's gold prices soar again after US strikes
VIETNAM - Local gold prices shot up to VND5.3 million a tael (37.5 grammes) on Monday morning before settling down to VND5.27 million a tael in the afternoon following the US-led air strikes on Afghanistan.
Noyer: E european c banks should aim for growth
POLAND - Central banks in countries seeking to join the European Union should ensure that their battle against inflation doesn't harm economic growth, a senior official at the European Central Bank said in a speech on Monday 15 October.
Fed's Meyer says attacks raise surplus doubts
US - Federal Reserve Gov. Laurence Meyer said in a speech on Friday 12 October the 11 September attacks on U.S. financial and military landmarks have raised sharply uncertainties about future federal budget surpluses.
Vietnam central bank takes steps to rein in gold
VIETNAM - The central bank will sell more gold to the domestic market in an effort to curb the upward spiralling price of the yellow metal following the events of 11 September in the United States, said deputy central bank governor Duong Thu Huong.
US tightens 'terror cash' laws
US - The US Senate has passed legislation to tighten laws against money-laundering, as financial authorities seek ways to clamp down on terrorists' sources of funding.
IMF upbeat on Russia
RUSSIA - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed confidence in the Russian economy, which it said is set to weather the downturn in oil prices and global growth.
BOJ should take untraditional measures - Takenaka
JAPAN - Conventional liquidity provisions aren't enough and the Bank of Japan should consider untraditional steps to deal with Japan's economic woes, economy minister Heizo Takenaka said Friday.
Greenspan rejects idea of inflation targets
US - Choosing a specific inflation target for the Federal Reserve to meet would not help the central bank set interest rates, Alan Greenspan, the Fed chairman, said yesterday, 11 October.
Russian central bank to remain independent
RUSSIA - The working group for amendment of the law, "On the Central Bank", advocated retention of the independent status of the Central Bank.
BoJ fund draining casts doubt over prospects
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan has withdrawn much of the extra money that it pumped into the Japanese economy in the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks, casting further doubts over the country's dismal growth outlook.
Chile central bank sees '01 growth less than 3.7%'
CHILE - Felipe Morande, the Chilean central bank's research director, said in a speech on Wednesday 10 October that the bank sees the country's gross domestic product growing "less than 3.7%" in 2001.
Eurozone interest rates remain unchanged
GERMANY - The European Central Bank (ECB) has left interest rates unchanged, despite growing pressure for a cut to boost the flagging eurozone economy.
ECB Press Conference
PRESS CONFERENCE - Introductory statement by Willem F. Duisenberg, President of the European Central Bank, Christian Noyer, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, Vienna, 11 October.
ECB Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Monetary policy decisions, 11 October 2001.
Study of asymmetric markets wins economics award
NOBEL PRIZE - Three American economists have been awarded this year's Nobel prize for their work on the advantages enjoyed by sellers over buyers in markets ranging from jobs to crops to second-hand cars.
BoE's Clementi makes no comment on future of rates
UK - Bank of England Deputy Governor David Clementi used a speech on Wednesday 10 October to discuss the international financial system, confounding rumours that he planned to signal the Bank would not cut interest rates again.