News
Oil, debt relief on G7 agenda says Snow
US Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Wednesday 13 April that global growth, debt relief and high energy prices will be key themes for a weekend meeting of G7 finance ministers.
Fed's Fisher 'comfortable' with rate increase pace
Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said strong US growth has put inflation pressures in the spotlight but they still appear to be under control.
South Korea drops revaluation plan
South Korea's plan to raise the value of the local currency and issue higher face-value banknotes has been dropped for fear of a possible negative impact on the overall economy.
Bank of Canada cuts growth forecast for 2005
The Bank of Canada released its April 2005 Monetary Policy Report on 14 April. In the report the Bank lowered its growth forecast for the Canadian economy for 2005, cutting its estimate to 2.6 per cent.
Fin mins concerned uneven growth may hinder ECB
Eurozone finance ministers are concerned that different growth rates among the 12 nations sharing the single currency could hamper European Central Bank policy making, a German government official told Reuters on Wednesday.
IMF sees slower economic growth in Japan
Japan's economy will show slower growth in 2005 but should gather steam as the year progresses, according to the IMF's World Economic outlook Wednesday, urging the Bank of Japan to keep monetary policy loose until the deflation threat is removed.
SARB holds 70% dollar-denominated reserves
South Africa's central bank holds 70 per cent of its foreign exchange reserves in dollars, the bank's financial markets head Daniel Mminele was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
Central bank independence discussed in Iran
A senior banking expert said on Sunday that the independence of Central Bank of Iran (CBI) could help bring about economic stability and preserve the value of the national currency.
African central banks introduce supervision system
Central banks in East, Central and Southern Africa have moved closer to future monetary union, with the introduction of a new Bank Supervision Application (BSA) system.
Bank of Canada keeps interest rates unchanged
The Bank of Canada announced on Tuesday 12 April that it was holding interest rates unchanged. The bank said data received since the last interest rate announcement indicate that the Canadian and global economies have been evolving largely as expected.
Juncker says EU to press China on peg
European finance ministers are set to appeal to China at this week's Group of Seven meeting to allow its currency to appreciate, according to Luxembourg Prime and Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.
Irish bank chief highlights eurozone uncertainties
Ireland's central bank governor John Hurley told a meeting on Monday 11 April that stronger growth in the euro area still remains an emerging prospect rather than a current reality.
Zhou: anti-money laundering mechanism essential
China's central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said on Tuesday 12 April that it is of "significant importance" for European and Asian countries to establish an efficient anti-money laundering mechanism, People's Bank of China sources were quoted as saying.
Fed's Santomero stresses inflation vigilance
In an interview with USA Today, Philadelphia Fed President Anthony Santomero said the US economy was "in good shape and growing at a good pace, not too fast so as to create all these imbalances and pressure on prices, but clearly moving slightly above…
Tanigaki: G7 likely to keep same forex message
Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said high oil prices are expected to top the agenda when G7 finance chiefs meet in Washington later this week.
Luxembourg sees limited manoeuvre on ECB rate
The central bank of Luxembourg said in its latest financial stability report that it sees a "limited margin of manoeuvre" on European Central Bank interest rates.
Bank of France reduces gold holding
Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer said in an interview that he has "no special plan to modify the composition" of the central bank's foreign-exchange reserves this year as the bank offloads gold to buy currencies.
China to move on yuan rate at 'appropriate' time
Senior Chinese economists believe China's current exchange rate needs to be adjusted "at an appropriate time and in an appropriate way," the Shanghai Securities News has reported, according to State news agency Xinhua.
No plan to diversify Korea reserves 'for now'
South Korea has no intention of diversifying its rising foreign reserves, as such a move could further strengthen the Korean currency against the US dollar, the Bank of Korea's chief was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Asian central bankers to meet in May
Central bank governors of South Korea, Japan and China plan to discuss their currencies and foreign exchange reserves next month in Seoul, Park Seung said Sunday.
Ex-Fed chairman Volcker to get honorary degree
Paul Volcker, who headed the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987, will receive an honorary degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's commencement on Saturday 21 May.
China SAFE's Ma Delun appointed to PBOC
China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) deputy director Ma Delun has been appointed as an Assistant Governor at the People's Bank of China.
Committee to assess Sweden's inflation targeting
Comment from the Sveriges Riksbank with regard to the Riksdag Committee on Finance's planned evaluation of monetary policy, 7 April.
Bank Negara reports fall in reserves
Bank Negara Malaysia's international reserves fell to RM275.17 billion (US$72.41 billion) at the end of March, the first decline in many months.