News
Chinese economists want increased gold reserves
Some Chinese economists are urging the government to increase its gold reserves to 2,500 tons from the current 600 tons because the country's foreign exchange reserves had become the world's largest, an official industry newspaper reported this week.
Turkey to stick with floating lira
The governor of Turkey's central bank said Friday 12 May that the bank would maintain its floating currency system but was closely monitoring foreign currency market developments, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Shabibi says Iraq's reforms are on track
The governor of the central bank of Iraq said on Thursday 11 May that solid progress was being made in reforming the country's financial sector despite ongoing disruptions and that enough reserves existed to defend the currency.
The little-noticed 'yet' in the Fed's statement
According to this article by John Berry, published Thursday 11 May, it was in the FOMC's statement explaining what may come next that "yet" appeared, signalling that after boosting the target at 16 consecutive meetings the committee probably will take a…
Fed raises rates to 5%
The Federal Open Market Committee decided Wednesday 10 May to raise its target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 5 percent. In its statement the FOMC said "some further policy firming may yet be needed."
Swedish Riksbank's board unanimous on decision
The minutes of the Swedish Riksbank's monetary policy meeting on 27 April showed it was unanimous in its decision to leave the repo rate unchanged at 2%.
Austria's Liebscher says oil biggest eurozone risk
Austrian national bank governor Klaus Liebscher told reporters on Thursday 11 May that high oil prices pose the biggest threat to the eurozone economy.
China's yuan progress 'far too little'
The US government on Wednesday 10 May did not accuse China of manipulating the value of its currency, but said Beijing had made "far too little progress" in adopting a flexible exchange rate.
Why economists worry about foreign reserves
According to the article "Why economists worry about who holds foreign currency reserves" published Tuesday 9 May, the idea that China or some other American rival could someday use its vast holdings of U.S. debt as a geopolitical weapon is gaining…
Asia's savings glut keeps its bond markets tiny
According to this article published Wednesday 10 May, it is a puzzle why global investors hold almost no debt denominated in Asian currencies when they snap up fixed-income securities that pay in Uruguayan pesos or Brazilian reais.
BoJ names new executive director for operations
The Bank of Japan said Tuesday 9 May that it has promoted Hajime Mizuno, director-general of the BoJ's operations department, to the post of executive director in charge of operations and payment and settlement systems.
Afghan bank keeps currency strong with dollars
Afghanistan's central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank, supplies 10 million U.S. dollars each week to bazaar in order to keep the value of the Afghani currency strong, the president of the bank said Sunday 7 May.
IMF says China to benefit from yuan appreciation
China's economy will benefit from a government decision to allow greater exchange rate flexibility for the yuan, according to an IMF economist.
Weber charts course for ECB rate rise
European Central Bank council member Axel Weber said in an interview published Tuesday 9 May that interest rates need to be increased by at least a quarter point to curb inflation in the eurozone.
Prerequisites of a single Gulf currency
According to this article published Monday 8 May, the issuance of a single currency by 2010 in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states will crown Gulf economic integration efforts.
Wages no bar to Fed pause after move tomorrow
There's no reason for Federal Reserve officials to stop thinking about a pause in raising interest rates after going to 5 percent when they meet tomorrow (Wednesday), according to this article published Tuesday 9 May.
Former Fed economist urges more transparency
There is cautious optimism that Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will bring real transparency to the US central bank, this article published Monday 8 May says.
Bank of Israel publishes minutes
The Bank of Israel said on Monday 8 May it will publish the minutes of meetings in which interest rates are fixed each month from now on.
Bush sees no credibility problem for Bernanke
US President George Bush said in an interview on Friday 5 May that new Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke did not have a credibility problem.
Bangladesh Bank can do more on financial stability
The Bangladesh Bank should play its role as a facilitator to all the scheduled banks to overcome any sort of problem they are facing, this opinion piece published Tuesday 9 May says.
Richmond Fed names new first vice president
Sally Green was named first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond on Tuesday 9 May, and will oversee the financial services and support areas of the Fifth District operations as of 1 August.
Japan discovers misprints in yen notes
Japan's high-tech money-printing bureau was embarrassed on Tuesday 9 May when 39,500 bills were found to be misprinted.
G10 central bankers wary of inflation
Central bank chiefs from leading industrialised and developing countries called on Monday 8 May for "very special attention" to guard against ongoing global economic growth from becoming inflationary.
HKMA's Yam rejects calls to dump dollar peg
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has said it would resist pressure to re-peg the Hong Kong dollar away from the U.S. dollar and onto the Chinese yuan.