News
UK rates stay at 5%
The Bank of England held its key rate at 5% for the third straight month on Thursday.
Number of counterfeit euro notes surges
The number of counterfeit banknotes recovered in the eurozone soared by 5.4% in the first half of 2008, the European Central Bank (ECB) said on Thursday.
Goodhart predicts "annus horribilis" for BoE's MPC
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is in for a terrible year, Charles Goodhart, a former member of the committee, said.
GCC should drop dollar peg: Fed adviser
A prominent US economist with Federal Reserve experience has said it makes sense for Gulf states to abandon their dollar pegs.
Canada calls time on money injections
The Bank of Canada has said it will withdraw liquidity from the system on signs that money-market tensions are abating.
US lists advanced Basel II qualification rules
The four US regulatory agencies responsible for Basel II have detailed how firms may qualify to use the advanced approaches of the framework.
BoE rate low but homeowners face price surge
UK mortgage costs hit an eight-year high at the end of June despite the Bank of England's key rate remaining at 5%, its lowest level for more than two years.
Norwegian SWF mulls emerging-market portfolio
Norway's Government Pension Fund - Global is looking to invest in emerging-market stocks, say media reports.
EU sets euro exchange rate for Slovakia
The European Commission on Tuesday finalised Slovakia's bid to join Europe's single currency, fixing the koruna's conversion rate at 30.1260 to the euro.
SEC memorandum a short-term fix: Bernanke
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) and the Federal Reserve, introduced Monday, is only meant to address the short-term issues surrounding the regulation of investment banks, Ben Bernanke, the…
Strengthen central bank, IMF tells Burundi
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday advised the Burundian authorities to grant the central bank's independence and enhance the institution's internal controls.
Lebanese banks compliant, insists governor
Riad Salame, the governor of the Bank of Lebanon, has countered allegations that the country's financial institutions illegally supported Hezbollah, a militant group.
SARB mints Mandela coin
The South African Reserve Bank has issued a R5 (64) coin to commemorate the 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela, a former president and anti-apartheid campaigner.
Japanese SWF proposed
A panel of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has recommended that Japan should establish a sovereign wealth fund managing 10 trillion ($93 billion) in assets drawn from the country's pension reserves to bolster returns.
Tightening prospects fade in Japan
The prospects for a rate hike in Japan in the near future have become even smaller after a quarterly report by the Bank of Japan indicated that economic conditions have worsened in eight of the country's nine regions since April.
New Olympics banknote for China
The People's Bank of China (PBoC) is issuing a new 10-yuan note to commemorate the Beijing Olympics, which start in August. Local media reports suggested that the note will feature a drawing of the new National Stadium, also called the Bird's Nest -…
Seoul moves to stem won slide
The Bank of Korea and ministry of finance issued a joint statement on Monday declaring their intention to intervene to prevent further falls in the foreign exchange market.
Rising fuel prices spur Israel's rate hike
Concern over rising fuel prices led Stanley Fischer, the governor of the Bank of Israel, to opt for a quarter-point rate rise at last month's meeting of the central bank's monetary policy committee.
Sarkozy in SWF U-turn
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, is having second thoughts about sovereign wealth funds. So much so that he is even suggesting that France should have one.
Europe's payments revolution is slow going
The number of payments made using the new SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) credit transfer have been "very low", admitted Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, an executive director at the European Central Bank.
Bank Indonesia hikes rates
Indonesia's central bank raised rates for the third time in a row as the fuel price hike and soaring food prices pushed inflation to above 11% in June.
Have Australian rates peaked?
The statement accompanying the latest monetary-policy decision of the Reserve Bank of Australia suggests that the central bank's long cycle of monetary tightening may be over.
Swedish rates up, more to come
Sweden's central bank has raised rates by a quarter point to 4.5% - a new 12-year high - with the promise of two further hikes this year.
Bank of Ghana staff strike
Staff at the Bank of Ghana went on strike Thursday in protest over the dismissal of two colleagues.