News
Bank of Japan to revamp its website
With the aim of further enhancing web site usability, the Bank of Japan said on Tuesday 14 March it will renew its website effective from March 20, 2006.
NY Fed welcomes derivatives commitments
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Monday 13 March it welcomes the new commitments by 14 major market participants to continue their progress toward improving the infrastructure that supports the credit derivatives markets.
Basci named acting central bank governor
Turkey's central bank vice governor Erdem Basci has been appointed acting governor of the institution, following the end of Sureyya Serdengecti's term as governor, Turkish Daily News reported.
China's Premier rules out sudden yuan move
China's Premier Wen Jiabao has ruled out a sudden revaluation of the yuan, telling parliament that the country will let the market determine currency rates.
Preliminary report on security of banknote storage
Sir John Gieve, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, on Friday 10 March delivered to Mervyn King, the Governor, his confidential preliminary report on the security of banknote storage.
Riksbank to publish three Inflation Reports a year
At its meeting on Thursday 9 March the Executive Board of Sweden's Riksbank decided that in future three Inflation Reports would be published a year instead of the current four.
Monetary policy: a journey from theory to practice
The European Central Bank is holding a colloquium in honour of Otmar Issing in Frankfurt am Main, 16 - 17 March 2006. Contributors include Mervyn King, Donald Kohn, Lars Svensson and Allan Meltzer.
UAE considers reserves switch to euros
The United Arab Emirates is considering moving 10 percent of its foreign currency reserves out of U.S. dollars and into the euro, the Khalij Times reported Monday 13 March.
BoJ's Mizuno says rate hikes necessary - report
Atsushi Mizuno, a Bank of Japan policy board member, has said that raising interest rates is necessary to have some flexibility in managing monetary policy, Jiji Press reported.
Trichet praises BoJ's communication
The Bank of Japan's communication with financial markets was "very, very good," European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said Monday 13 March. He also said independence was of "extreme importance" for the National Bank of Poland.
Keep politics out of Bank of Spain, says PP leader
People's Party (PP) leader Mariano Rajoy said on Wednesday 8 March that he does not agree that Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordoez, the current secretary of state for internal revenue, should be the next governor of the Bank of Spain.
Central Bank of Turkey governor named - report
A press report on Thursday 9 March said the replacement has been chosen for Sureyya Serdengecti, after he resigns on 13 March as governor of Turkey's central bank.
Malaysia's Zeti gets new five-year term
Malaysian central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz's term in office has been extended for another five years, effective from 1 May, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Finance on Friday 10 March.
Fukui: Zero rate policy can't last 'indefinitely'
Bank of Japan governor, Toshihiko Fukui, said on Friday 10 March that the central bank won't keep borrowing costs at zero forever.
China considering expansion of HK yuan business
The Chinese government may allow Hong Kong companies to issue yuan-denominated bonds and settle trade transactions using the yuan, in order to expand yuan business in the city, Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBoC) said, according…
NBP chief defends decision over meeting
Leszek Balcerowicz, governor of the national bank of Poland, rejected accusations on Friday 10 march that he broke the law by excluding a government official from a regulatory meeting on Italian lender UniCredit's deal to buy Polish Bank BPH.
Bank of Canada announces research award
The Bank of Canada announced on Friday 10 March that Professor Gregor Smith of Queen's University is the recipient of the Bank's Research Fellowship for 2006.
PBOC says US pressure not a factor on yuan
A People's Bank of China official was quoted on Thursday 9 March as saying that pressure from the US is not a factor under consideration in determining the yuan's exchange rate.
New vice-governor for Slovak central bank
The National Bank of Slovakia is to get a new vice-governor, the Slovak Spectator reported.
Liebscher says EU integration must not be hampered
National Bank of Austria governor Klaus Liebscher said in an interview that EU integration must not be hampered by protectionist measures to fight cross-border mergers in some countries.
RBNZ leaves OCR unchanged at 7.25 per cent
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced on Thursday 9 March that its Official Cash Rate (OCR) will remain on hold at 7.25 per cent.
IMF upholds sanctions against Zimbabwe
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund met Wednesday 8 March to review Zimbabwe's overdue financial obligations to the Fund and consider the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.
Bank of Japan ends quantitative-easing policy
The Bank of Japan voted 7-1 to end its five-year-old super-easy monetary policy on Thursday 9 March at the end of a two-day meeting, but said it will maintain short-term interest rates near zero until its next meeting in April.
Japan's Abe praises Fukui's wisdom
Japan's top spokesman repeated the government's position on Wednesday 8 March that the Bank of Japan should exercise caution over scrapping its ultra-loose monetary policy.