News
ICE's CDS clearing plan gets Fed's approval
The Fed has accepted a bid by ICE Trust - an amalgam of an exchange operator, a provider of clearing services and eight banks - to run a central counterparty and clearing house for the global credit-default-swap (CDS) market.
Swiss central bank books $4 billion loss
The Swiss National Bank was Sfr4.7 billion ($4 billion) in the red for 2008, it emerged on Wednesday.
CEE regulators condemn stability "misperceptions"
Six central and eastern European regulators on Wednesday jointly attacked the recent coverage of their economies, labelling it misleading, oversimplified and potentially harmful.
Name and shame borrowers: senator tells Fed
Bernie Sanders, a senator representing the state of Vermont, has blasted Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, for refusing to disclose the recipients of Fed funds.
UAE establishes crisis group
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday that it would set up a group to tackle the impact of the credit crisis on the seven states.
Japan to use currency reserves to aid economy
Japan's government unveiled plans on Tuesday to use some of the country's foreign currency reserves to help its firms.
Unconstitutional Fed aid a threat to independence
The Federal Reserve risks incurring the wrath of Congress and limiting its independence with its credit policy, Jeffrey Lacker, the president of the Richmond Federal Reserve and a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, has warned.
IMF staffer urges global effort to stem deflation
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) economist has called on central bankers to begin multilateral talks to stave off worldwide deflation.
Greece appoints new deputy governor
Ioannis Papadakis was sworn in as deputy governor of the Bank of Greece on Tuesday.
Iceland selects chief economist for new MPC
Reykjavik appointed Thorarinn Petursson, the Central Bank of Iceland's acting chief economist, to its newly-created Monetary Policy Committee on Tuesday.
Canada lowers again, may boost money supply
The Bank of Canada cut its benchmark rate to a record low of 0.5% on Tuesday, saying that recent data had revealed a worse-than-expected slowdown. The central bank also said that it could raise the money supply through quantitative or credit easing.
Denmark names new departmental heads
The National Bank of Denmark has chosen Ove Sten Jensen and Ib Hansen as the new heads of departments for its government debt management and in its market operations wings.
Fed forced to drop tough loan rules to save AIG
The Federal Reserve has had to relax the terms of its support to American International Group (AIG) in its latest bid to save the world's largest insurer.
Nigeria agrees to house continental central bank
Africa took a step closer to creating a single central bank on Monday after it emerged that the African Union, a body devised to foster economic integration in the region, and Nigeria would sign an agreement to create a regional central bank in Abuja…
Crisis predictable, mirrors previous episodes: BIS
Economists at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) have found that the current financial turmoil was, like other bouts of market stress, preceded by easily identifiable build ups in credit expansion and risk-taking.
Avoid Tokyo's mistakes to combat deflation: Ito
Takatoshi Ito, a prominent economist, has urged global monetary authorities to learn from Japan's errors in order to successfully stave off a nasty bout of deflation.
Iceland's Oddsson out, Norwegian consultant in
David Oddsson, the beleaguered head of the Central Bank of Iceland, was forced to step down on Friday following the passing of a new central bank act. Svein Harald Oygard, a director at McKinsey, a consultancy, will replace him as interim governor.
SNB's Roth to step down
Jean-Pierre Roth, the head of the Swiss National Bank, will retire at the end of this year.
Development banks pledge €24.5bn to east Europe
The World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the European Investment Bank on Friday agreed to lend up to €24.5 billion ($31 billion) to support banks in central and eastern Europe hit by the crisis.
Bulgaria takes counter-cyclical measures
The Bulgarian National Bank has taken counter-cyclical measures to support its domestic banks.
We must review our reliance on ratings: King
Central banks must rethink their reliance on credit ratings to assess financial products' suitability for open-market operations, Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, has said.
Ex-Buba's Pohl sees euro threat
Karl Otto Pohl, a former president of the Bundesbank, has said that he believes countries are considering quitting the eurozone and that German politicians are concerned that they will end up shelling out for any member's debt defaults.
BoE's Tucker: end bickering over CDS clearing
Paul Tucker, the soon-to-be deputy governor responsible for financial stability at the Bank of England, has called on officials to stop feuding over plans to create a central counterparty for credit default swaps (CDS).
Washington talks down nationalisation
Some of the main players in the United States's plans to fix the financial sector have been playing down the likelihood of nationalisation in recent days.