News
Japan's Koizumi says rapid dollar fall unwelcome
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Thursday 9 December at a press conference that he does not welcome a rapid fall in the US dollar but is also against resorting too much to market intervention.
Tanenaka says view of Japan's economy not changed
After the Japanese government revised the country's third-quarter gross domestic product, Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Heizo Takenaka said Japan hasn't changed its view that the economy is recovering.
ECB's Issing reassures on eurozone growth
The European Central Bank's chief economist Otmar Issing insisted in an interview published on Wednesday 8 December, that Eurozone growth would recover from its current lull next year.
CBR's Ignatyev says gold/ fx reserves may change
Changes in the structure of gold and foreign exchange reserves are possible, Russian central bank Chairman Sergei Ignatyev said in the State Duma.
Mboweni prefers 'competitively' priced ex rate
Addressing the annual dinner in honour of the ambassadors and high commissioners to South Africa, Tito Mboweni said: "We neither prefer a weak rand nor an overvalued exchange rate. We prefer a competitively priced exchange rate."
Korea's financial watchdog to get Beijing office
South Korea's top financial watchdog will open an office in Beijing by January next year, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said on Wednesday 8 December.
Bank of Canada leaves interest rates unchanged
The Bank of Canada announced on Tuesday 7 December that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 2 1/2 per cent. The operating band for the overnight rate is unchanged, and the Bank Rate remains at 2 3/4 per cent.
Korea's deputy PM calls for rate cut
Korea's Deputy Prime Minister for Finance and Economy Lee Hun-jai is reported to have urged the Bank of Korea to cut interest rates two days before the central bank is due to meet.
PBOC's Zhou says rigid ex rates pose 'huge risks'
Governor Zhou Xiaochuan of the People's Bank of China said the country's currency peg is a hazard for banks and companies, according to a published report.
BOJ's Iwata sees strong business investment in 05
Kazumasa Iwata, one of the Bank of Japan's two deputy governors, told a conference in Sydney that business investment in Japan was strong and will increase next year.
ECB and finance cheifs issue euro warning
The head of the central bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, joined the chairman of the 12 Eurozone finance ministers at a news conference to reinforce the message of a written statement.
Bundesbank lowers German growth forecast
The Bundesbank has revised downwards its forecast for growth of the German economy next year to 1.2-1.3% from an earlier prognosis of 1.5% strength of the euro hits exports from the eurozone's largest economy.
CLS Bank live with four additional currencies
CLS Bank International announced on Monday 6 December that it will settle payment instructions in four new currencies for the first time this week. This brings to fifteen the number of currencies eligible to settle through CLS Bank.
ECB report 'The euro bond market study 2004'
The European Central Bank published a report entitled "The euro bond market study 2004" on 3 December. The report contains the results of an analysis of developments in the euro bond market since 2001.
Fed says electronic payments exceed check payments
Surveys conducted by the Federal Reserve confirm that electronic payment transactions in the United States have exceeded check payments for the first time, the Financial Services Policy Committee said on Monday 6 December.
Boston Fed's Minehan on November job report
The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston told a conference on globalisation on Friday 3 December that the November unemployment report was "somewhat disappointing".
Issing says factors for stronger growth 'in place'
European Central Bank Chief Economist Otmar Issing said in an interview published on Monday 6 December that the surge in oil prices hasn't prompted labor unions to raise their wage demands, and eurozone inflation is expected to fall back below 2 per cent…
No plan to divert from U.S. dollar-Japan's MOF
Japan, the biggest overseas holder of U.S. Treasuries, has no plan to divert from dollar-denominated assets, said Masatsugu Asakawa, a Ministry of Finance official.
ECB announces changes in senior management
The Executive Board of the European Central Bank announced on Thursday 2 December that it has decided on some changes in senior management at the ECB.
Interview with San Francisco Fed's Yellen
In an interview published this week, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Janet Yellen says in her spare time she enjoys running, and has run a few half-marathons. She describes her time at the White House as exciting and interesting…
The man who shaped the Federal Reserve
A new biography, "Chairman of the Fed: William McChesney Martin Jr. and the Creation of the Modern Federal Reserve System tells Martin's story as Fed chairman from 1951, when over the next 19 years, it says, he employed a combination of diplomacy,…
The shortest year of my life: Zimbabwe's Gono
It is one year since Gideon Gono took office as governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. This article looks back on Gono's first year and quotes him as saying "It has been one of the shortest years I've ever had to live in my 45 years of existence. The…
RBA paper: News and interest rate expectations
The RBA Discussion Paper "News and interest rate expectations: A study of six central banks" analyses the effect of news relating to the expected path of monetary policy on interest rate futures. Results suggest that the impact of the RBA's communication…
Former MPC member to oversee Blunkett inquiry
Sir Alan Budd, a former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, has been commissioned by John Gieve, the Home Office permanent secretary, to undertake an "urgent investigation" into claims that Home Secretary David Blunkett fast…