News
German sovereign wealth rules "lean and liberal"
Germany's planned legislation to limit investment by sovereign wealth funds will allow foreign funds to buy banks, media companies and consumer industries, but not in the energy sector.
Czech central bank holds rates
The Czech National Bank decided on Thursday to keep its benchmark interest rate at 3.25%.
Injections were the right response - OECD chief
Central banks were correct to inject liquidity into the banking system in order to deal with the turmoil in global money markets, said Angel Gurria, the secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Further rapid growth in foreign exchange trading
The volumes of foreign exchange traded has grown by 65% over the last three years, the preliminary results of the Bank for International Settlement's (BIS) triennial survey reveal, with global daily turnover averaging $3.2 trillion in April 2007.
New governance head at Norwegian oil fund
Anne Kvam, a legal director at paper producer Norske Skog, will replace Henrik Syse, as head of corporate governance at Norges Bank Investment Management, the Central Bank of Norway's sovereign wealth fund.
Sudan to switch dollar reserves
The Bank of Sudan has said it is looking to replace its dollar reserves with euros and other currencies by the end of 2007 to lessen the impact of US sanctions.
Poland and Romania hold rates
The central banks of Poland and Romania decided on Thursday to leave their benchmark rates unchanged at 4.75% and 7% respectively.
Norway raises rates
Norway's central bank surprised markets by hiking its benchmark rate 25 basis points to 5% on Wednesday.
Politicians want more power to veto Bank
An enquiry into the crisis at Northern Rock by Treasury ministers is expected to result in calls for their colleague, the chancellor of the exchequer, to be able to overrule the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
EU re-designs euro coin to exclude Turkey
The new design of the euro coin - set to be introduced next year in Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus - will not feature Turkey despite its inclusion in the original plans.
Dugan to replace Witteveen at joint forum
John Dugan, the comptroller of the currency in the US, will head the Joint Forum, a group of senior financial sector regulators, following the death of Dirk Witteveen, an executive director at the Netherlands Bank, earlier this month.
Slovakia holds rates
The National Bank of Slovakia decided to keep its benchmark rate at 4.25% on Tuesday.
Currency reform set for delays - Nigeria's Soludo
Charles Soludo, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, said reforms of its naira currency, set out in mid-August, are on hold until the central bank meets with the government.
IMF warns against over-regulation following crisis
Jaime Caruana, the head of capital markets at the International Monetary Fund, on Monday urged financial regulators to avoid introducing a raft of rules in reaction to recent events in global money markets.
Tosovsky and Strauss-Kahn interview for IMF head
Josef Tosovsky's and Dominique Strauss-Kahn's respective statements to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the role of managing director touched on similar problems. But their solutions differed vastly.
Hungary cuts rates, looks to abolish two coins
The National Bank of Hungary decided on Monday to lower its base rate by 25 basis points to 7.5% after announcing on Friday that it would withdraw its one and two forint coins.
Trichet responds to Sarkozy criticism
Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, has again hit back at French president Nicolas Sarkozy's attempts to criticise and influence monetary policy.
Israel holds rates
The Bank of Israel decided on Monday to keep its interest rate at 4% as the strength of the shekel is counterbalancing rising prices and keeping inflation in check.
Germany is the ECB's biggest fan
Out of the five major Eurozone economies, it is Germany, the largest, that is most confident that the European Central Bank (ECB) fulfils its primary roles of managing inflation and encouraging growth.
UK head regulator: borrowing rules should change
Sir Callum McCarthy, the chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) - the UK's financial watchdog, has said the authorities should alter banking regulation in light of the problems faced by Northern Rock.
China and Japan renew currency swap agreement
Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People's Bank of China, and Toshihiko Fukui, the governor of the Bank of Japan, renewed their currency swap agreement in Tokyo on Thursday.
Mexico holds rates at 7.25%
The Bank of Mexico on Friday voted to keep its benchmark overnight lending rate at 7.25%.
Bank of England issues auction information
The Bank of England published on Friday details of its forthcoming term auctions.
Merkel defends ECB's independence
German Chancellor Angela Merkel implicitly criticised fellow head of government Nicolas Sarkozy of France when she said at an event to celebrate 50th anniversary of the Bundesbank that her government will block any attempts to exert political influence…