News
Politician says Koizumi agrees to ask BOJ to ease
JAPAN - Senior ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Hideyuki Aizawa said 1 August he and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi agreed on the need to call for the Bank of Japan to ease further.
Bank set to defy rate cut calls
UK - The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is widely expected to leave UK interest rates unchanged, despite a mixed picture for the British economy. The MPC began its monthly meeting today, 1 August, and is due to reveal its interest rate…
Hungarian bank says June deficit was misprint
HUNGARY - The National Bank of Hungary said on 1 August that the figure of EUR129.2 million for the June current account deficit, published in its quarterly inflation report 1 August, was a misprint.
Lebanon needs stable currency - Bank governor
LEBANON - A stable currency is needed for successful privatisation of state-owned companies, Banque du Liban (Central Bank of Lebanon) Governor Riad Salameh said on 30 July.
Armenia's top officials must declare their income
ARMENIA - The Armenian parliament has passed a law on the declaration of income and property by high-ranking officials, including the central bank, in Armenia.
New currency law not seen hurting Russian reserves
RUSSIA - The reduction in the amount of hard currency companies are obliged to exchange for roubles is not expected to have a major impact on the forex market nor prevent the central bank from building up it foreign currency reserves, dealers said on 31…
Manila c bank says no need to print more money
PHILIPPINES - There was no danger that monetary authorities would be forced to print more money to pay for government debts, Philippine central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura said on 31 July.
World Bank names two new country directors
US - The World Bank yesterday, 30 July, named two new country directors for Thailand and the Philippines.
Croatian payment settlement institute to be axed
CROATIA - The Croatian Payment Settlement Institute (ZAP) is to be abolished. Its functions will be divided between the central bank and commercial banks.
World Bank hires senior adviser to president
US - The World Bank has appointed Yukio Yoshimura as senior advisor to the president of the World Bank Group, James Wolfensohn.
Iran's central bank governor returned to office
IRAN - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is scheduled to announce his second cabinet next week. Unofficial reports say that Khatami's next cabinet would not have serious changes in its political makeup, despite the change in characters.
Bank's legal might cited as grounds for appeal
UK - The fact that orders by the Bank of Thailand to financial institutions carry the equivalent weight of the law could serve as the basis for an appeal by the government in the Pin Chakkaphak extradition case.
Credit card growth blamed for spiralling debt
AUSTRALIA - The proliferation of credit cards has contributed to the bad management of personal debt, according to NRMA Building Society research.
Zimbabwe c bank says support plan aids gold mines
ZIMBABWE - Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank said today, 31 July, a support programme for gold producers introduced earlier this year had helped boost production in a sector where high costs had threatened several mines with collapse.
Central Europe govt's on collision with c-banks
CZECH REPUBLIC - With elections due in all three of central Europe's leading economies in the next year, governments seeking to raise public sector spending risk bruising rows with their central banks.
Bulgaria c-bank fx reserves down on Brady payment
BULGARIA - The foreign exchange assets of the Bulgarian National Bank's (BNB) Issue Department fell by a net 167.3 million euros ($146.3 million) after Bulgaria paid coupon on its Brady bonds, a central bank official said on 30 July.
Brazil easily beats IMF primary surplus goal in H1
BRAZIL - Brazil posted a primary budget surplus of 30.42 billion reals ($12.47 billion) in the first half of the year, sharply beating an IMF-agreed target for the surplus with 8.9 billion reals to spare, the Central Bank said today, 30 July.
CNB will publish meeting records after six years
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech National Bank (CNB) has decided to publish the records of the bank board meetings. The central bank reacts to the interest and specific needs of economic analysts, economics students and historians of the Czech economy or of…
PBOC cracks down misconduct in securities, banking
CHINA - The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, plans to focus its efforts on cracking down on misconduct within the financial markets.
Thai c bank delays new forex reporting rules
THAILAND - The Bank of Thailand won't issue the details of its revised foreign exchange reporting requirements until some time in August, a bank official said 30 July.
Sri Lanka c bank to slowly lift forex restrictions
SRI LANKA - Sri Lanka's central bank said 30 July it will gradually lift several restrictions on the foreign exchange market that were imposed when the rupee was floated in January.
Blair and Brown set euro vote timetable
UK - Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have drawn up a timetable for a euro referendum and are preparing to make a judgment, probably next year, about whether to call one, reports the Financial Times in London, 27 June.
Five months to E-day and euro use still limited
EUROPE - Five months before the introduction of euro notes and coins, the use of the single currency remains limited in almost every country in the 12-nation eurozone, the European Commission warned yesterday, 27 July.
Peru's new finance minister sees changes at c bank
PERU - Incoming Finance Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said on 26 July that former central bank chief Richard Webb will likely become the new president of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru.