News
Ex-central banker Fraga takes wheel of a cab
Former president of the central bank of Brazil Arminio Fraga has recently appeared on Brazilian television in a comedy sketch playing a taxi driver who likes to voice his opinions on the economy, according to a Bloomberg report
Philippines central bank reviews inflation target
The governor of the Philippines central bank, Rafael Buenaventura, said on Thursday that the inflation target may be revised down as previous concerns such as high oil prices no longer existed, according to Reuters.
Japan on brink of crisis, warns central banker
Speaking to parliament on Wednesday 21 May, Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui said Japan faces a situation where a so-called financial crisis could be triggered at any time, according to a report by Sapa-AFP.
Reserve Bank of Australia "rushed" card reforms
Australia's Federal Court heard Thursday that the Reserve Bank had rushed through reforms of the Australian credit-card market because an ACCC price-fixing action against National Australia Bank was about to fail, according to a report in The Age.
Bundesbank chief wants tightening stability pact
Bundesbank president Ernst Welteke has warned that Germany should not abandon its budget consolidation efforts and called for a tightening of the European Stability and Growth Pact rules, according to a report in Deutsche Welle.
ECB rates may be too low for Denmark
An OECD study warns that Denmark's policy of shadowing the ECB's interest rates could result in inappropriate rate levels thereby creating a risk the economy will overheat, according to Reuters.
Drive for greater SEC powers
Senior Republicans on Wednesday 21 May introduced a draft bill that they said would help rebuild investor confidence and increase the powers of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Times reports.
Russia's chief banker briefs Putin on inflation
Speaking on Channel One TV in Russia, Sergey Ignatyev said the central bank must continue to strengthen banking supervision and that over a number of years, we will deliver full convertibility for the rouble.
BCCI defence costing Bank of England £1m a month
The High Court in London heard on Monday 19 May that the Bank of England is spending more than £1m a month to fight allegations that it recklessly mishandled the regulation of BCCI, according to the Financial Times.
ECB eye Hitachi micro chip to prevent note forgery
A report noted by Kyodo Newsby says the European Central Bank is looking into the idea of using integrated circuit chips in bank notes to prevent forgery.
Economic analysts dismiss threat of US 'deflation'
At its twice yearly meeting in Washington the Shadow Open Market Committee said deflation fears are unfounded and misguided, according to VOA News.
IMF urge currency flexibility for Kenya's c bank
The IMF has apparently been encouraging the central bank of Kenya to allow the exchange rate to be more flexible than it has been in the past, according to the Daily Nation.
RBNZ unveils schools monetary policy competition
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Wednesday May 21 launched its second Monetary Policy Challenge aimed at secondary school economics students. The competition involves teams of students becoming, in effect, central bankers. Participants will need to…
Bank of England MPC Minutes 7/8 May 2003
Minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee Meeting were released on 21 May for the meeting of 7 and 8 May 2003. The minutes showed that Christopher Allsopp, Kate Barker, Marian Bell and Stephen Nickell voted for a 25 basis point rate cut…
Trade Union leader appointed to BOE's Court
UK chancellor Gordon Brown announced the appointment of the head of the Trades Union Congress, Brendan Barber, to the court of directors of the Bank of England on Wednesday.
Bank of England voted 5-4 to hold rates
Policy makers at the Bank of England voted by a narrow five to four margin to keep its lending rate unchanged at 3.75pc earlier this month, BizWorld reports. The four MPC members calling for a rate cut were all external members of the Committee.
Bosnian Presidency reappoints c. bank governor
Peter Nicholl was reappointed governor of the central bank of Bosnia-Hercegovina on Tuesday by Borislav Paravac, the Bosnian President. Nicholl agreed to stay Governor of the central bank until the end of 2004, following which current Vice-Governor…
Keeping it real - Trichet is an Ali G fan
Governor of the Bank of France Jean Claude Trichet recently revealed he is a fan of Ali G, a comedy character from the UK, reports the Independent.
Greenspan: Economic signals still mixed
In testimony on Wednesday 21 May Alan Greenspan said the Federal Reserve is ready and able to tackle deflation if necessary in the unlikely event of falling prices, the washington Post reports. The Federal Reserve would not be "out of business" policy…
UK inflation stays at highest level in five years
The Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday 21 May the underlying annual inflation rate in the UK - the measure targeted by the Bank of England - was 3 per cent in April, unchanged from the previous month, reports the Financial Times
Peter Nicholl welcomes Presidency decision
Governor Nicholl welcomes the decision of the Presidency of BH on the new Governing Board of the CBBH, 20 May.
Brazil central bank under pressure to cut rates
Several of Brazil's top government officials have echoed the call of industry bosses for a cut in the central bank's prime interest rate from 26.5 per cent, according to a report in the Financial Times. In what was described as an unusually harsh tone,…
Russian court orders arrest of ex Turkmen c banker
The Russian courts have ordered the arrest of Hudayberdi Orazow, former chairman of the central bank of Turkmenistan who fled to Russi, according to the Turkmen Press news agency.. Orazow left Turkmenistan when wanted by the Turkmen authorities in…
BoJ announces change in money market guidelines
The Bank of Japan on Tuesday 20 May said it will lift its target balance of current accounts held by private financial institutions at the central bank to around 27 to 30 trillion yen ($230 billion-$256 billion) from the previous target of around 22 to…