News
Sri Lanka c bank predicts sharp drop in inflation
SRI LANKA - The Central Bank (CB) has forecast a sharp drop in the annual average inflation by the end of 2002 with the foreseeable continuation of the present ceasefire in the North.
Malaysia pushes for 'gold dinar'
MALAYSIA - Malaysia will set up a secretariat to study and promote the use of the gold dinar as currency for international trade if the cabinet agrees, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday.
Treasury-central bank rift in Israel
ISRAEL - For the first time in decades, the Prime Minister's Office, the treasury and the Bank of Israel did not jointly publish the national forecast together with the publication of the 2003 budget. The disagreement is testimony to the difficult…
Brazil's finance chiefs upbeat on life under Lula
BRAZIL - Brazil's economic authorities have held out the possibility of a significant recovery in the country's battered financial markets following a likely leftwing victory in Sunday's presidential run-off election.
BOK urged to focus on long-term inflation target
KOREA - The central bank should set its inflation target on a medium- or long-term basis rather than on an annual basis to maintain price stability more effectively, economic experts said at a seminar on inflation held at the Bank of Korea (BOK) in…
Takenaka apology leaves bank reform in turmoil
JAPAN - Confusion over Japan's proposed banking reform deepened yesterday as Heizo Takenaka, this month empowered by Junichiro Koizumi, the prime minister, to clean up the financial system, apologised to parliament for remarks suggesting that no company…
ECB Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Statement of the Governing Council on the Stability and Growth Pact, 24 October 2002.
ECB Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - The long-term evolution of TARGET, 24 October 2002.
Second ECB Central Banking Conference
CONFERENCE - The transformation of the European financial system, Frankfurt, 24 and 25 October 2002.
Expectation increases of UK interest rate cut
UK - The odds against a cut in interest rates before the end of the year have shortened sharply after it emerged that three members of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee voted for a cut earlier this month.
Takenaka faces no-confidence vote in Japan
JAPAN - Heizo Takenaka, Japan's embattled economic czar, will today face a parliamentary vote of no confidence as the opposition tries to exploit a clash within the ruling Liberal Democratic party over how to tackle the country's banking crisis.
US economy still stuck in doldrums
US - The US economy is struggling to break out of the doldrums, with widespread sluggishness infecting retail sales, according to a regular survey of business conditions by the Federal Reserve.
Lobby group warns UK on delaying euro entry
UK - Eight out of the 10 states poised to join the European Union could be ready for euro membership by 2007, increasing the risk that the UK will be isolated unless it joins soon, according to Britain in Europe.
Canada's c bank warns of spike in inflation
CANADA - The Bank of Canada said Wednesday economic growth will be lower than expected in the short term but inflation could still double the bank's target by year-end, as Canada continues to be pulled in opposite directions by uncertain global markets…
Polish rate cut may be last - Balcerowicz
POLAND - Chairman of the Polish National Bank [NBP] Leszek Balcerowicz said on Thursday that October's interest rate reduction, that had surprised the market, did not have to mean another reduction.
Hayami pans adoption of inflation target for Japan
JAPAN - Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami on Thursday rejected the notion of adopting an inflation target as a means of helping to raise prices and fight deflation. "There is no data to support the procedure and the way to achieve it," Hayami told a…
Prime Minister responds to Finland's Vanhala
FINLAND - Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen (Soc. Dem.) has responded to recent criticism of Finland's incomes agreement policy voiced by Matti Vanhala, Governor of the Bank of Finland.
Federal Reserve Board Press Release, 22 October
PRESS RELEASE - The Federal Reserve Board, along with the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and San Francisco, will sponsor a conference this fall to explore ways to encourage banking opportunities in tribal communities.
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee Minutes
MINUTES - Minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee Meeting released on 23 October for the meeting of 9 and 10 October 2002. The nine MPC members voted on a proposal to maintain the repo rate at 4.0%. Six voted in favour of this, however…
Modest growth in slow recovery - Fed's Poole
US - St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President William Poole said on Wednesday the U.S. economy is growing modestly as it recovers slowly from recession.
Poland surprises market with rate cut
POLAND - Poland's central bank took markets by surprise on Wednesday with a half-point cut in interest rates, its third policy easing in as many months.
Malaysian gov't presses ahead on use of gold dinar
MALAYSIA - The government will set up a secretariat to study and promote the use of the gold dinar as currency for international trade if the cabinet agrees, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.
Tito Mboweni urges scrutiny of inflation basket
SOUTH AFRICA - Central bank governor Tito Mboweni has urged academics to analyse the country's inflation targets, as part of a challenge to make research institutions become more relevant to public policy.
Saudi Arabia urged to speed up economic reform
SAUDI ARABIA - The International Monetary Fund has called for the acceleration of economic reforms in Saudi Arabia, warning that inaction would swell an already large public debt, put pressure on public finances and discourage investment.