News
Canada to switch to polymer
Bank of Canada to issue plastic notes in 2011
Hildebrand, Weber condemn calls for higher inflation targets
Swiss and German central bank heads label IMF chief economist’s argument “seriously flawed”; deem timing “highly unfortunate”
Bank begins consultation on note circulation
Bank of England in talks with commercial cash industry on proposal to better distribute lowest denomination note
ECB surplus drops more than 16%
European Central Bank reports a €2.218 billion surplus, and a €2.25 billion profit, pinning fall in interest income to low rates on dollar assets
Norway’s wealth fund smashes profit record
Norway’s Government Pension Fund–Global sees a 25.6% return on its investments for 2009, trumping the benchmark portfolio by more than four percentage points
Swiss stabfund losses wipe out UBS equity
Revaluation wipes more than $5.6 billion off the value of SNB’s toxic-asset portfolio
We won’t ban prop trading: British Lord
British business secretary Peter Mandelson says Volcker rule is “too difficult” even as Washington works to turn it into law
Argentine Senate set to reject governor
Central bank set to be leaderless again after committee vote against Fernández ally
Norges Bank sees $1.28 billion loss
Norwegian central bank says deficit the result of the appreciation of its currency; cannot transfer funds to the country’s Treasury as a result
Malaysia hikes as recession ends in emerging Asia
Bank Negara Malaysia raises its key rate by a quarter percentage point, citing stronger than forecast growth results in emerging Asia
Lawmakers clash over Fed role in consumer protection
Senior Democrats infuriated over possible revision to regulatory reform bill that would keep consumer protection under the Fed, against original promise
Austria’s Nowotny: power of rating agencies unacceptable
National Bank of Austria’s Ewald Nowotny says agencies’ role in fate of Greece too great
Fed’s Fisher: break up the big banks
Dallas Federal Reserve’s president gets tough on those deemed too big to fail
Greece not looking to bond markets for now: debt chief
Greece’s new head of public debt management says the country will not rush to tap sovereign debt markets; austerity package with extra cuts sends yields plummeting
Nigeria slashes deposit rate to ease lending
Central Bank of Nigeria knocks 100 bps off deposit rate and extends quantitative easing programme to promote lending to the real sector
Fernández’s central bank raid finally succeeds
Hours after admitting defeat on emergency decree, President Fernández plunders central banks reserves through new measures
China moots legalising some private lenders
A director-general of the People’s Bank of China says the central bank is in favour of lifting rate caps and legalising some micro-lenders
Philadelphia Fed appoints new VPs
Central bank shifts roles after senior vice president Richard Lang announces decision to step down
Australia hikes on further evidence of recovery
Reserve Bank of Australia raises cash rate to 4% as Stevens says economy in the clear
NY Fed welcomes fresh round of OTC targets
Dealers promise to clear vast majority of credit and interest-rate derivatives centrally
Kohn to leave Fed in June
Federal Reserve’s Don Kohn to depart once his term as vice chairman ends
Argentine president drops efforts to plunder reserves
President Fernández abandons plans to raid central bank’s coffers to repay national debt for now
Last survivor of Bretton Woods dies
IMF managing director calls Jacques Polak an “iconic figure”
UK FSA’s penalties policy could see enforcement fines treble
British regulator’s announces new structure for penalty-setting