News
Iraq seeking $40bn GCC debt relief
Iraq's central bank chief has said he hopes the Gulf GCC countries will follow the example of other states and give Iraq 'generous treatment' over debt cancellation.
SNB see profit fall on gold price, US $
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has reported an annual net profit of 12.8 bln sfr for the full year 2005, compared to 21.6 bln sfr a year earlier due to the sharp rise in both the gold price and the US dollar.
Greenspan receives Dept of Defense medal
Outgoing Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, was presented with the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service by US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Monday 23 January.
Report says CB gold sales won't meet quota
HSBC analyst Alan Williamson told Dow Jones on Friday 27 January that European central banks are highly unlikely to sell the total 2,500 tons of gold allowed under the current agreement.
Takeuchi to join BOJ board - report
World Bank economist Sawako Takeuchi has been named as the likely replacement for Miyako Suda on the Bank of Japan's board.
Officials warn Japan's deflation not yet over
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Friday 27 January that although the key CPI rose for the second straight month in December, the country's economy has not yet emerged from deflation.
Slovakia's Sramko named central banker of 2006
The governor of the Central Bank of Slovakia, Ivan Sramko, has been named as The Banker magazine's its Central Banker of the Year for 2006.
Zhou says dollar weighting less than 50%
The weighting of the dollar in China's currency basket used as a reference to value the yuan is "much less than 50 percent," according to the People's Bank of China governor.
Gulf seminar warns of monetary policy risks
A four-day regional seminar on 'monetary operations and liquidity management' in Muscat, Oman, has cautioned Gulf central banks against risks and challenges involved in monetary operations.
Bush nominates two to Fed board
The White House announced on Friday 27 January it was nominating Randall Kroszner and Kevin Warsh to fill two vacancies on the Federal Reserve's seven-member board of governors.
Report says Greenspan to set up consulting firm
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan plans to establish a consulting firm called Greenspan Associates in Washington after he leaves the central bank at the end of the month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday 26 January.
Hunt on for 'radioactive dollars' in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is currently hunting for dozens of "radioactive dollars" circulating in the country's financial system.
CBK says it won't devalue shilling
The Central Bank of Kenya has insisted it will not intervene in the market to devalue the strengthening shilling in the face of continued pressure from agricultural exporters.
China pledges further liberalisation of rates, FX
People's Bank of China governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, pledged on Thursday 26 January to liberalise China's interest rate and foreign exchange policy further as part of wider economic reform but said the moves would be gradual.
BoE's Gieve: Oil prices should not impact on rates
John Gieve, the new deputy governor of the Bank of England, on Thursday 26 January rejected suggestions that UK interest rates should rise simply because of very high energy costs.
Cheney praises Fed's 'superb' performance
US Vice President Dick Cheney said the White House has no argument with the way the Federal Reserve conducts monetary policy, but said Alan Greenspan advised him along time ago not to comment on Fed policy.
RBNZ holds OCR unchanged at 7.25 per cent
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced on Thursday 26 January that the Official Cash Rate (OCR) will remain unchanged at 7.25 per cent.
IMF's Rato names Director of External Relations
Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the IMF, on Wednesday 25 January informed the 24-member Executive Board of his intention to name Mr. Masood Ahmed as Director of the IMF's External Relations Department.
Russia's Tulin set to leave central bank
Dmitry Tulin, a deputy chairman at the Central Bank of Russia, will leave his post on 1 February and join auditing company Deloitte and Touche.
Iran clarifies rumours on reserves shift, gold
Mohammad-Jaafar Mojarrad, Iran's central bank vice-governor, told the Financial Times on Tuesday that Tehran had withdrawn foreign reserves from Italian banks but not from other parts of Europe.
Bank of England voted 8-1 to hold rates
Minutes of the Bank of England's last Monetary Policy Committee meeting, released Wednesday 25 January, showed that only dovish Stephen Nickell wanted to lower UK interest rates a quarter-point.
BOJ minutes show reluctance for price target
According to minutes from the Bank of Japan board's December meeting released on Wednesday 25 January, some members of the BOJ's policy board felt it would be hard to set a desirable rate of inflation.
Z$50 000 bank note coming to Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's inflation ravaged citizens will soon have a new Z$50 000 bank note to make shopping easier, central bank governor Gideon Gono announced on Tuesday 24 January.
Bini Smaghi calls for excess liquidity halt
Central banks must act in a timely way to halt excess liquidity, a senior European Central Bank official said in the advance release of a newspaper interview Wednesday 25 January.