News
Rosen takes over at CEA
The White House announced on Wednesday 23 February that Harvey Rosen, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, will take over as CEA chairman from the departing Greg Mankiw.
A head for the World Bank
The process of choosing a new leader for the World Bank is devoid of much transparency, something the bank likes to preach, according to this article. With leaders traditionally being American, and chosen in secrecy by the American president, the…
Hungary's new Monetary Council members appointed
Hungary's President Ferenc Madl has appointed the new members of the Monetary Council. Judit Nemenyi, Tamas Banfi, Peter Bihari and Csaba Csaky will become members of the council from 1 March.
French finance minister resigns over apartment
Herve Gaymard, the French finance minister, resigned on Friday 25 February following revelations about his state-funded luxury apartment.
Report says China peg impact overstated
Research published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland on Thursday 24 February said that China's exchange rate peg to the dollar has had less of an impact on its trade surplus with the United States than many observers have assumed.
Most G7 favour IMF gold sales idea - report
A majority of Group of Seven members favour selling some of the International Monetary Fund's gold reserves to finance debt relief, a German newspaper on Friday 25 February reported G7 sources as saying.
Central Bank of Iraq aims for monetary stability
According to AZZAMAN newspaper, the Central Bank of Iraq has announced that it intends to fight inflation and achieve monetary stability in Iraq following a noticeable increase in prices over the past few months.
Measured rate rises working- Fed's Bernanke
Federal Reserve Governor Ben Bernanke said on Thursday 25 February that with US inflation controlled the Fed can continue with its policy of gradual interest rate increases.
Paraguay to implement electronic payment system
Paraguay's central bank (BCP) plans to implement an electronic payment system costing US$5mn in order to facilitate the flow of documents with other public bodies, local newspaper La Nacion reported.
Qatar set to host 2nd Islamic financial summit
The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) is to hold its second summit in Doha, Qatar on 24-25 May 2005, with the Central Bank of Qatar as the host, the summit secretariat said.
CGFS announces 4th central bank conference
It was announced on Wednesday 23 February that the European Central Bank in co-operation with the Bank of Japan and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, will host the fourth in a series of joint central bank research conferences on risk…
Federal Reserve Minutes from Feb meeting
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's 1 and 2 February meeting published on Wednesday 23 February revealed broad agreement among members of the Federal Open Market Committee on the need for further rate increases to prevent accelerating inflation.
PBoC will 'actively promote' exchange rate reform
The People's Bank of China said in a report released on Thursday 24 February that it will "actively promote" reform of the exchange rate regime this year.
ASEAN currency swap deal extended
Central bankers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed an agreement on Thursday 24 February to extend until 2006 a currency swap deal intended to help ASEAN members experiencing international liquidity problems.
BOK's Park says 'no such plans' on dollar sales
The Bank of Korea has no plans to sell dollars out of the country's foreign reserves and replace them with other currencies, bank chief Park Seung said on Thursday 24 February .
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Feb 2005
According to the firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey, February 2005, expansion in the region's manufacturing sector is growing at a slightly faster rate than in January.
Bank of England MPC Minutes, 9 &10 February
The minutes from the 9 &10 February meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee published on Wednesday 23 February showed eight members voted to hold interest rates unchanged, with Paul Tucker voting against, preferring a rise in the repo…
Fukui says reserve target assessment in April
Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said Wednesday 23 February the central bank will decide after April if its target for reserves available to lenders is appropriate, adding that the policy of pumping funds into the economy will be maintained.
ECB's Caruana says inflation outlook favourable
European Central Bank governing council member Jaime Caruana said in a speech the eurozone's inflation outlook is relatively favourable and inflation should fall below 2 per cent in the coming months.
ECB policy 'appropriate' according to Tietmeyer
Former Bundesbank President Hans Tietmeyer said in an interview with Bloomberg television the European Central Bank's interest rates were at the right level and called on countries to respect for the European Union's rules on budget deficits.
IMF's Rajan says Europe needs 'balanced' Pact
Europe needs balanced budget rules to boost economic growth, the IMF's Chief Economist Raghuram Rajan said in an interview published on Wednesday 23 February, referring to recent plans to revamp the European Union's Stability and Growth Pact.
South Korea's central bank denies dollar sale plan
The Bank of Korea denied on Wednesday 23 February that it planned to offload its US dollar assets after media speculation it was about to do so sent the US currency falling.
Bank of Japan Minutes, 18 and 19 January
The Bank of Japan's minutes from its 18 and 19 January monetary policy meeting published on Tuesday 22 February revealed that board members discussed lowering the central bank's liquidity target as a response to improved financial stability.
Phil Fed's Survey of Professional Forecasters
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has published its First Quarter 2005 Survey of Professional Forecasters. Economic growth in the first half of 2005 looks stronger now than it did three months ago, according to 36 forecasters surveyed.