News
Mervyn King and the invisible hand
Bank of England governor Mervyn King delivered a speech this week in which he revealed his "Maradona theory of interest rates" based on the Argentine legend's second goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final.
Bank of Canada issues upgraded $10 bank note
The Bank of Canada put into circulation an upgraded $10 bank note with enhanced security features on Wednesday 18 May.
BoJ's Fukui says board split 7-2 on target cut
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui said on Friday 20 May that the BoJ's policy board vote was spilt 7-2 on maintaining the liquidity target at 30-35 trln yen. "Two members thought the target ought to be lowered," Fukui told a press conference.
Hungary bank chief says forint can weaken
Hungary's forint can weaken by "a few percentage points" without sparking an inflation rise, deputy central bank governor Gyorgy Szapary said in an interview.
Rato says US deficit weighing on world economy
The International Monetary Fund's forecast for global economic growth this year remains unchanged at 4.3 per cent although the US current account deficit is still weighing on the world economy, IMF chief Rodrigo Rato said on Thursday.
IBM transforms Bank of Korea's forex system
A major software giant has said it has completed the transformation of the Bank of Korea's foreign exchange asset management system for foreign exchange reserves.
Treasury envoy to press China on peg system
The US Treasury has appointed a special envoy on China who will have an enlarged mandate to engage China on its exchange rate, which has been pegged to the dollar for the past decade.
NRB governor elected to ACU president
The governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), Bijaya Nath Bhattarai was elected president of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) at its 34th annual meeting in Lahore this week.
China rejects calls for currency change
Chinese officials have rejected both Washington's demand that China loosen its fixed exchange rate policy and Europe's threat of quotas on a tide of Chinese textiles.
Turkey, Kyrgyzstan agree to cooperate
The Turkish Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) signed an agreement with the Central Bank of Kyrgyzstan, the agency said on Wednesday 18 May.
South Korea to continue currency intervention
South Korea's minister of finance and economy on Thursday 19 May denied a news report that the government has decided not to intervene in currency markets.
Malaysia to maintain currency peg
Malaysia will maintain its seven-year-old currency peg to the US dollar and has no plans to impose measures to curb the flow of speculative funds into the economy, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Thursday 19 May.
Hong Kong loosens its dollar's 22-year peg
Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief Joseph Yam said on Thursday 19 May that a decision to loosen the Hong Kong dollar's 22-year peg to the US dollar won't encourage banks to raise interest rates sharply and hurt businesses.
Minutes from the Sveriges Riksbank Meeting, 28 Apr
The Sveriges Riksbank published the minutes from its 28 April Executive Board meeting on 17 May. A member emphasised that growth in the world economy was still high, but said that it had become more unevenly distributed and that the performance seemed…
Bank of England voted 8-1 to hold rates in May
The Bank of England's minutes from its May Monetary Policy Committee meeting released on Wednesday 18 May revealed policy makers voted 8- 1 to keep interest rates unchanged in May with Paul Tucker rejoining the majority, dropping his call for an increase.
RBI plans risk management panel
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it is looking at setting up a separate committee to study and strengthen the operational risk management of banks, as part of the overall implementation of the Basel-II norms.
BOJ's Muto says policy to remain
The Bank of Japan is committed to keeping the policy of holding interest rates at almost zero and pumping cash into the economy until deflation is over, Toshiro Muto, one of the Bank of Japan's two deputy governors said on Tuesday 17 May.
PBOC chief sees room for debt market expansion
China has considerable room to expand its debt market, People's Bank of China chief Zhou Xiaochuan said.
Portugal's Constancio sees 'difficult' steps ahead
Portugal's central bank governor has called for ``new and difficult'' steps to prevent the budget deficit from soaring back above European limits.
Japan's Tanigaki sees economy on steady recovery
Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said on Tuesday 17 May that he sees the world's second largest economy as steady on a recovery track as indicated by January-March gross domestic product data.
Kohn says Fed likely to keep upping rates
The Federal Reserve is likely to keep raising interest rates at a gradual pace, according to a senior Fed official.
China peg pressure unhelpful - PM Wen
China's prime minister Wen Jiabao rejected foreign pressure to reform the pegged currency system, telling a visiting US delegation on Monday 16 May that any policy change was a "sovereign" issue for China which would be resolved at its own discression.
BOK sees no shift on yuan rate for now
The Bank of Korea (BOK) said on Tuesday 17 May that China is unlikely to revalue the yuan against the US dollar anytime soon, as its economy depends largely on exports to boost growth.
Central banks become net dollar sellers
The world's central banks have become net sellers of US dollar-denominated assets for the first time in more than two years.