News
New French finance minister installed
Thierry Breton arrived for work on Monday 28 February as France's fourth finance minister in less than a year following the resignation of Herve Gaymard last week.
Wolfowitz for World Bank, or Wolfensohn's son?
Reports this week said Paul Wolfowitz, US deputy secretary of defence, was a leading candidate to replace James Wolfensohn as the president of the World Bank. But the move seems unlikely following comments by Wolfensohn on Thursday 3 March.
Armenian central bank chief re-appointed
The Armenian parliament has endorsed the re-appointment of Tigran Sargsyan as chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia, Mediamax news agency reported on Wednesday 2 March.
SEANZA central banks see liberalisation gains
Central bankers from Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand (SEANZA) met this week and agreed to assess the impact of global financial liberalisation on regional monetary, exchange rate and banking supervision policy.
China needs flexible yuan, BOJ's Hirano says
China will adopt a more flexible currency as the nation overhauls its financial system and capital markets, said Eiji Hirano, a Bank of Japan executive director.
Fed study shows dollar fall could boost growth
A study by the Federal Reserve says a substantial fall in the value of the US dollar is likely to boost economic growth rather than cause an economic crisis.
Ex-Fed's Wyss says Asia should diversify reserves
Asian central banks need to diversify their foreign reserves but in doing so, they should allow the local currencies to appreciate against the dollar, a former US presidential economic adviser and Federal Reserve governor said on Thursday 3 March.
BOJ's Iwata: Deflation end needs 'one more stroke'
Kazumasa Iwata, one of the Bank of Japan's two deputy governors, said on Friday 4 March that the Japanese economy needs to improve by "one more stroke" to overcome deflation of almost seven years.
ECB cuts eurozone growth forecast
The ECB on Thursday 3 March lowered its forecasts for growth of the eurozone economy this year and next . At a press conference Jean-Claude Trichet also criticised the recent decision by the Ecofin council of European finance ministers to give Greece…
Bank of Italy escapes supervisory power limit
Italy's lower house of Parliament voted on Wednesday 2 March not to remove the Bank of Italy's authority over competition and mergers in the banking sector.
China spends US$195b maintaining yuan peg
The People's Bank of China spent 1.61 trillion yuan (US$195 billion) buying foreign currency last year to maintain the yuan's peg with the dollar, a rise of 40 per cent over 2003.
20 years of a floating New Zealand dollar
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand noted on Wednesday 2 March that this week marks the 20-year anniversary of the float of the New Zealand dollar. The bank said that the floating exchange rate regime has weathered several business cycles and plenty of …
Australia raises rates citing inflation pressures
The Reserve Bank of Australia announced on Wednesday 2 March that it was increasing interest rates by 25 basis points, to 5.5 per cent. It was the first shift in monetary policy by the RBA since December 2003.
Publication of papers from ECB workshop
On 13 and 14 December 2004 the Directorate General Economics in co-operation with the Directorate General Research of the European Central Bank (ECB) held a workshop on "Monetary policy implications of heterogeneity in a currency area". The ECB published…
Zimbabwe plans new currency next year
Zimbabwe will introduce a new currency next year, phasing out bank notes introduced two years ago as a stop-gap measure to ease critical cash shortages across the country, a government daily reported on Wednesday.
EU's Almunia confident on stability pact deal soon
The European Union commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, Joaquin Almunia, said on Wednesday 2 March that he was confident agreement would be reached "soon" on the Stability and Growth Pact.
Museum of Australian currency notes
The Reserve Bank of Australia has opened from 1 March a Museum of Australian Currency Notes on the ground floor of its Head Office in Sydney.
Bank of Canada keeps interest rate unchanged
The Bank of Canada announced on Tuesday 1 Marchthat it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 2 1/2 per cent. The Bank said the outlook for the Canadian economy and inflation remained essentially unchanged since January.
China to let foreign agencies sell yuan bonds
China will allow global agencies such as the World Bank to sell yuan-denominated bonds for the first time, the People's Bank of China said in a statement on its website.
NBP's Rybinski denies rates will be slashed
A senior official from the National Bank of Poland warned markets on Monday 28 February that expectations of a sharp falls in interest rates this year were misguided.
Fed's Moskow sees job market policy challenge
Chicago Fed president Michael Moskow said on Tuesday 1 March that the US economy still has excess labour and production capacity and that oil price rises have yet to spill into underlying inflation.
Bundesbank Int'l central banking seminars 2005
The Deutsche Bundesbank has announced the programme for its international central banking seminars 2005. The seminars began in January and run throughout the year.
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, Jan 2005
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for January 2005 was +0.21, down from +0.59 in December. However, all four broad categories of indicators that comprise the index made positive contributions to the January CFNAI.
Costello warns RBA on rate increase
Australia's Treasurer Peter Costello has put pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia not to raise interest rates when it meets on Tuesday 1 March, saying an increase would go against the RBA's remit.