News
Banks shun online sales pitch
UK - Britain's banks and building societies are turning away from the web in their search for new customers.
BIS hits back over banking standards
GERMANY - Andrew Crockett, head of the Bank for International Settlements, has answered criticism of his plans for new global banking standards from Gerhard Schroder, German chancellor, by warning politicians not to interfere.
Zimbabwe election fears hit rand
SOUTH AFRICA - Less than a day ahead of Zimbabwe's bitterly contested presidential election, South Africa's currency is feeling the pinch.
US finance chief backs steel moves
US - US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill has rejected suggestions from Europe that America's push to protect the domestic steel industry is simply a matter of treating the symptoms of an overvalued dollar.
Central bankers forged together over steel tariffs
US - ECB president Wim Duisenberg and Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan both spoke yesterday of their disagreement with the US government's decision to impose tariffs on steel. US treasury secretary Paul O'Neill, however, came out in favour of the…
Swedish c bank chief says worried by inflation
SWEDEN - Sweden's central bank governor Urban Backstrom said on Thursday he shared the concern of many of his colleagues at the bank on inflation but said a rate rise should be postponed if an upturn was not certain.
Gramlich- fiscal stimulus should be reversible
US - A Federal Reserve official on Thursday said measures the government takes to ward off recession should meet several criteria, including being easily reversible.
New man taking over at head of Irish central bank
IRELAND - Irishman John Hurley becomes the newest member of the European Central Bank's governing council on Monday when he takes up the reins as governor of the Central Bank of Ireland.
China ctrl bk - Weak yen won't affect stable yuan
CHINA - The weakening Japanese yen won't force China's government to abandon its long-held policy of maintaining a stable yuan, a senior central bank economic researcher said Friday.
Minutes of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting
MINUTES - Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes from the 15 and 16 January, released 5 March.
Bank of England News Release
NEWS RELEASE - Bank of England Maintains Interest Rates at 4.0%, 7 March.
European Central Bank Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - ECB Monetary Policy Decisions, 7 March.
ECB Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - European Central Bank buys Grossmarkt site, 5 March.
Greenspan upbeat on US recovery
US - Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the US central bank, has said that the US economic recovery is well under way.
Argentina seeks to clear way for IMF deal
ARGENTINA - Argentina's Senate yesterday debated the country's 2002 budget a day ahead of schedule as part of efforts to unlock a big support package from the International Monetary Fund.
Beige Book shows limited economic improvement
US - The US economy showed scattered "signs of improvement" through January and early February, but was not barrelling out of the gates, according to the latest anecdotal survey released on Wednesday by the Federal Reserve.
Papademos "very good" candidate for ECB vice head
GREECE - German Finance Minister Hans Eichel said Thursday that Greek Central Bank Governor Lucas Papademos was a "very good" candidate to succeed Christian Noyer as vice president of the European Central Bank, reports Dow Jones.
Pakistan c bank may hold some euro forex reserves
PAKISTAN - Pakistan may allocate part of its foreign exchange reserves in the euro when there is greater stability in the currency, the central bank said Thursday.
A cough and a headache halted Sabirin verdict
INDONESIA - A headache and a cough led a judge to postpone on Wednesday the verdict in the case of Central Bank governor Sjahril Sabirin, who is charged with corruption reports the Jakarta Post.
Pakistan law to check money laundering soon
PAKISTAN - The government has started working on an anti-money laundering law to check the inflow of suspicious transactions in the country's banking system.
ECB buys Frankfurt market site to build new office
GERMANY - With European Union enlargement in mind, the European Central Bank has agreed to spend about 60 million euros to buy the land housing Frankfurt's wholesale vegetable and fruit market to build a new headquarter.
Ethiopia slashes interest rates
ETHIOPIA - The Ethiopian central bank has halved interest rates to 3%, due to plunging deflation, weakening trade and investment and the global economic slowdown.
Barbados deal under fire from tax havens
BARBADOS - Caribbean tax havens have attacked the decision of Barbados to reach a settlement over demands by industrialised countries for reform.
Beijing backs away from controversial audit plan
CHINA - Chinese securities regulators have backed away from a controversial plan to force companies issuing shares to have their books audited by foreign accountants after furious lobbying against the policy by the domestic industry.