News
SARB: possible shift in foreign currency policy
South Africa's reserve bank has intervened in the currency market, in what is being seen as a shift in the Bank's policy. According to Business Day, the rand's recovery prompted the SARB to purchase dollars for reserves on a "moderate scale" governor…
Egypt imposes hard currency controls
Egyptian authorities have introduced a decree which aims to halt the decline in reserves at the central bank, according to Associate Press. The conflict in Iraq is expected to make the situation worse with income from tourism severely restricted.
RBA's McKibbin sees long slowdown
The U.S.-led war in Iraq will drain the world economy for years to come, sapping income from a wide range of countries, Australian central bank board member Warwick McKibbin has said, it is reported by Reuters
Bank Negara: Equal emphasis on supply-side
Publishing its annual report for 2002, the central bank of Malaysia said the conduct of monetary policy would focus primarily on ensuring favourable conditions on cost, market liquidity and accessibility, the Edge Daily reports
Venezuela considers modifying forex controls
Venezuela's currency control system may be modified with alternatives under discussion including keeping a fixed exchange rate of 1,600 bolivars to the dollar, says Reuters
Bundesbank publishes Annual Accounts for 2002
The Bundesbank published its results for 2002 on Wednesday revealing income of €7 billion. Realised gains from financial operations was €2.1 billion. €0.6 billion accrued from the distribution of profits by the ECB.
FOMC minutes of Jan 2003 meeting
The Federal Reserve on 20 March released the minutes of its FOMC meeting of 28-29 January, 2003 The minutes show difficulties predicting how the wobbly U.S. economy would hold up during a war with Iraq troubled Federal Reserve policy-makers at their…
Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Meeting, 25 March
Details of the Bank of Japan's emergency monetary policy meeting held on 25 March.
Bernanke advocates more Fed transparency
Ben Bernanke said in a speech on Tuesday 25 March that the Federal Reserve could benefit from setting an inflation target. An explicit inflation goal was in his view the best way for the Fed to achieve stable prices.
BoJ calls emergency meeting on Iraq
The Bank of Japan held an emergency meeting on Tuesday 25 March to discuss what effect war in Iraq might have on the Japanese economy, according to a report by Associated Press. The bank also announced that it would increase its purchase of commercial…
Fed's Kohn: No need for Fed to target inflation
In apparent contrast to Ben Bernanke's comments Donald Kohn said in a speech released Monday March 24 and reported by Reuters that he was sceptical that for the United States the potential benefits of changing to a regime of inflation targeting would…
Irish central bank- Euro economies underperforming
The governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, John Hurley, has described the current period as a time of exceptional uncertainty in the world economy. In a speech delivered in Dublin and reported by Dow Jones Newswires, he said the outlook for global…
ECB's Issing sees continued euro volatility
Otmar Issing of the ECB said on Tuesday March 25 that continued uncertainty would have an impact on the euro exchange rate, according to an Online report. He also said the euro is a candidate for a strong international role. But that we should not forget…
Fed's Guynn: Uncertainty a barrier to recovery
Atlanta Fed chief Jack Guynn said on Monday 24 that uncertainty over the war in Iraq, terrorism and oil prices would hinder recovery but that he expects a modest upturn in the economy later this year, according to a Dow Jones report.
Robert Gerard appointed to RBA board
Businessman and long-time Liberal Party supporter Robert Gerard has been appointed to the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia. according to a report in The Age The move drew immediate criticism from the Opposition. Gerard said his experiencing in…
BoJ calls ad hoc monetary policy meeting
The Bank of Japan has called an ad hoc monetary policy meeting for Tuesday, March 25, to review the prevailing severe economic and financial conditions including the effect of military action against Iraq and consider necessary steps with respect to…
Death of Governor of Central Bank of Iran
The governor of Iran's central bank, Mohsen Nourbakhsh, died of a heart attack in Tehran on Sunday 23 March, Irna, Iran's offical news agency, reported yesterday.
Russian Central Bank acts to hold ruble steady
The ruble held steady on Friday March 21 as the Central Bank of the Russian Federation stuck to its promise to minimise exchange rate volatility in a market nervous at the start of hostilities in the Gulf, according to a report in the Moscow Times.
Swiss rates on hold
The Swiss National Bank kept its key interest rate unchanged and repeated that that it could intervene to stop an appreciation of the Swiss franc, according to a Dow Jones report.
Fukui calls emergency meeting
Toshihiko Fukui, the new governor at the Bank of Japan called an emergency meeting of the policy board for Tuesday morning, March 25, according to the Financial Times, fuelling expectations that the central bank intends to take further emergency measures.
New regulator means new focus for the PBOC
The creation of a new banking system regulator allows the People's Bank of China to concentrate on interest rate reform.
G10 report on collective action clauses
G10 ministers and governors have approved the publication of a report setting out the key features of collective action clauses for sovereign bonds designed to contribute to the more rapid and orderly resolution of debt crises.
Norges Bank: new version of 100-krone note
Norges Bank is to put a new version of the 100-krone note into circulation on 25 March to safeguard against counterfeiting.
Bank of Canada confident inflation will edge down
The Bank of Canada published its annual report for 2002 on Thursday 20 March and struck a confident note on inflation. Within a year the rate is expected to fall back to around two percent, the report said. Governor Dodge reflected on the Canadian…