News
Trichet blames complexity for ratings reliance
Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, said on Friday that the complicated nature of many structured products had led to an over-reliance on credit ratings.
Hakkarainen new deputy at Bank of Finland
Pentti Hakkarainen, a member of the board at the Bank of Finland, is set to succeed Matti Louekoski as deputy governor in January 2008.
Markets certain on rate cut despite Fed's stance
In spite of repeated claims by Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members that the risks between inflation and growth are now balanced, interest rate futures traders believed on Wednesday that a December cut is more likely than ever.
Canada's Duguay raises chances of liquidity shift
Fresh suspicions that the Bank of Canada may alter its liquidity provisions by lending for longer periods arose on Tuesday after a speech by Pierre Duguay, a deputy governor of the central bank.
ECB loans show illiquidity in longer-term lending
The results of this month's European Central Bank (ECB) three-month open market operation reveal liquidity tensions remain for longer-term interbank lending.
Japan's Nakamura expects further US housing woe
Seiji Nakamura, a member of the Bank of Japan's rate-setting board, has said that the chances of economic slowdown in the United States are rising as the subprime market slumps further.
Zhou predicts "mild slowdown" for China
Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People's Bank of China, said the fallout from the global credit turmoil will have just a small impact on Chinese growth next year.
UK's Gieve surprises with rate cut vote
Sir John Gieve, the deputy governor at the Bank of England responsible for financial stability, was one of two dissenters who voted for a rate cut at the monetary policy committee's November meeting, minutes published on Wednesday reveal.
Koruna's rise presents mixed blessing
Ludek Niedermayer, a vice governor of the Czech National Bank, parried calls for the central bank to act on the appreciation of the koruna and said that the increase in the currency's value made euro accession more favourable.
Zimbabwe set for new currency
Gideon Gono, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, said on Wednesday that the issue of a new currency was imminent, after announcing just over a fortnight ago that it would be delayed until 2008.
Norway's oil fund makes a loss in third quarter
The market value of Norway's sovereign wealth fund fell in the third quarter, hit by the global financial turmoil and appreciation of the krone. However, the value of the fund passed Nkr2 trillion ($369 billion) for the first time in October.
BlackRock to manage superfund
BlackRock, an asset manager, is expected to look after the planned $75 billion structured products superfund, set up to ease money market illiquidity.
UK regulator sticks to stance despite Rock run
Britain's head regulator defended the Financial Services Authority's (FSA) principles-based approach, saying that it offers the "best chance" of balancing "the benefits and risks of innovation."
Further fall in Northern Rock shares
Northern Rock shares dropped further on Tuesday from 104p ($2.14) to 95p at the close after losing almost a fifth of their value on Monday. The drop follows comments by the British chancellor and rumours that one of the bids tabled for the troubled…
Dollar fall hampering Chinese reserve management
Wen Jiabao, China's premier, said on Monday that the fall in the value of the greenback was making it difficult to manage the country's reserves.
Subprime limited Japanese monetary expansion
The Bank of Japan could have hiked rates if the United States subprime market had not crashed, said Yasuhisa Shiozaki, the chief cabinet secretary under Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister who resigned in September.
Fed releases first revamped economic projections
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday published the first of its revised economic forecasts as part of the minutes of the 31 October rate-setting meeting.
Zhou parries appreciation calls
Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People's Bank of China, said that the central bank could widen the renminbi's trading range if deemed necessary.
G20 predicts "modest" global slowdown
Central bank governors and finance ministers from the G20 economies said that the credit turmoil would likely have a "modest" effect on global growth, but added that it remained difficult to judge the eventual impact.
Northern Rock stock falls on bid comments
Shares in Northern Rock, the mortgage lender, plummeted 19% on Monday after it revealed takeover bids were worth less than the company's stock market value at the Friday close.
Fed's Stern cautions on response to turmoil
Rating agency reform in the wake of the subprime debacle could cost the economy more than doing nothing, Gary Stern, the president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, has warned.
Koruna's rise unsustainable - Czech's Tuma
Zdenek Tuma, the governor of the Czech National Bank, has described the koruna's appreciation against the euro and dollar as unsustainable.
US subprime conditions set to worsen - Kroszner
Randall Kroszner, a governor of the Federal Reserve, warned on Friday that conditions in the US mortgage market had yet to reach rock bottom. Speaking in New York, Kroszner said that there were two reasons why he believed market conditions would worsen:…
Russia plays safe with fund investment
Russia's Oil Stabilisation Fund will stick to investing in highly-rated bonds until the fund's restructuring is complete early next year, officials said on Thursday.