News
ACCI sees no reason to change RBA appointments
The Reserve Bank of Australia is the most successful central bank in the world and the appointment process to its board should not be changed, Australia's business organisation ACCI said this week.
Interview with IMF's Agustin Carstens
Agustin Carstens, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, recently talked about the challenges facing the Eastern Caribbean region.
State Bank of Pakistan appoints governor
The President of Pakistan appointed Dr Shamshad Akhtar as governor of the State Bank of Pakistan on Saturday 3 December for a period of three years.
BCEAO governor named as Cote D'Ivoire PM
The governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), Charles Konan Banny, has been named the new Prime Minister of the Cote D'Ivoire, formerly known as Ivory Coast.
Stark tipped as Issing's replacement at ECB
Germany wants to hold its seat on the European Central Bank's executive board and could nominate Bundesbank Vice President Juergen Stark to replace Otmar Issing next year, Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Mirow said in an interview this week.
Greenspan saves the world again
Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan attended his final G7 meeting in his official capacity last weekend. He receives various tributes, honours and gifts, including a cartoon depicting him as a goal keeper.
IMF chief economist sees further US rate hikes
The International Monetary Fund's chief economist, Raghuram Rajan, predicted on Friday 9 December that the Federal Reserve would probably continue to raise interest rates.
ECB's Issing says rate policy no block to recovery
The European Central Bank's interest rate policy is no obstacle to an economic upturn in the euro zone, ECB chief economist Otmar Issing told German weekly Rheinischer Merkur.
Greenspan says debate, openness must be balanced
Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said in response to questions from Congress that the FOMC works hard to balance policymakers' need to have private discussions about economic matters and investors' desire for transparency.
Fitch raises Mexico debt rating
Mexico's debt rating was raised one level by Fitch Ratings as the country reduces foreign debt and inflation decelerates, Fitch said in a statement.
Greece's Garganas: ECB won't follow Fed rate rises
The European Central Bank won't follow the US Federal Reserve's practise of continuous interest rate hikes, Bank of Greece governor and ECB Governing Council member Nicholas Garganas said Friday 9 December.
Tanigaki urges BOJ not to rush policy shift
Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki has urged the Bank of Japan not to rush in ending its current quantitative expansionary monetary policy framework.
Riksbank introduces new system for publication
On Tuesday 6 December Sweden's Riksbank began using a new electronic system, Observer Online, for the distribution of press releases, speeches, minutes of monetary policy meetings and statistics.
Memorandum of Understanding between BNM & HKMA
Bank Negara Malaysia and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority jointly announced on Thursday 8 December the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the establishment of a large-value payment-system link between Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Payment Innovation Conference, Amsterdam 4-5 April
The key theme is 'Payment Innovation Beyond SEPA'. SEPA is the acronym for 'Single European Payment Area', a political effort to harmonize all payment systems within Europe.
IMF's Rajan urges caution on further ECB rate hike
IMF chief economist Raghuram Rajan has called on the European Central Bank to wait for evidence that an economic recovery is taking hold in the euro zone before raising interest rates again.
Mersch says ECB ready to act when necessary
The European Central Bank has not determined what or when its next move will be, but would act if it felt the need to raise rates again, ECB Governing Council member Yves Mersch told a German newspaper.
India following 'passive policy' on gold
Reserve Bank of India governor, Yaga Venugopal Reddy, said on Tuesday 6 December that the federal government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have been following a "passive policy" on its gold holdings.
Jarai says Fitch downgrade will raise rates
Hungary's central bank governor Zsigmond Jarai said on Wednesday that Hungary's downgrading by ratings agency Fitch on Tuesday6 December would increase risk premiums but would not affect the economy in the short term.
Ireland's Hurley supports ECB rate rise
Ireland's central bank governor John Hurley has defended the ECB's quarter point rate hike last week, saying it will dampen the threat of inflation across the eurozone.
BOJ's Haru says reserve target may be cut
Bank of Japan policy board member Hidehiko Haru said the BOJ may have to lower its reserve target range before it concludes its ultra-easy monetary policy, if it becomes difficult to keep to the present range, which is set very high.
Fukui says govt understands BOJ's stance
Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said on Wednesday 7 December he thinks Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi understands the BOJ's deflation-fighting policy stance.
Treasury management system for Bulgaria
The Bulgarian National Bank is gearing up for entry to the European Union (promised for 2008 or 2009 at the latest) by ensuring it will meet the 1 January 2007 deadline for compliance with the revised Eurosystem standards for treasury management…
Bank of Canada raises interest rates
The Bank of Canada announced on Tuesday 6 December that it is raising its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 3 1/4 per cent. In a press release the bank suggested rates would rise further saying, "some further…