News
Senate panel clears Bernanke's nomination
The US Senate Banking Committee on Thursday 9 June approved the nomination of Federal Reserve Governor Ben Bernanke to head the White House Council of Economic Advisers, sending it to the full Senate for a final vote.
ECB signs new premises contract
Lucas Papademos, Vice-President of the European Central Bank (ECB) signed the architectural contract for the optimisation phase of the new ECB premises in Frankfurt am Main on Thursday 9 June.
Duisenberg rallies to defence of euro
Wim Duisenberg, the former president of the European Central Bank, on Thursday 9 June rejected a call from an Italian minister for the reintroduction of its own currency, saying in an interview that the country had had a big boost from the adoption of…
RBI to introduce cheque truncation system
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is in the process of introducing a national cheque truncation system (NCTS) under a new entity to speed up the retail payment system in the banking sector.
Atlanta Fed's Guynn sees more US rate rises
Jack Guynn, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, said the US economy will be able to withstand further rate hikes as it is on a "solid" growth track.
IMF's Rato says euro is a big success
IMF managing director Rodrigo de Rato told a news conference on Wednesday 8 June that monetary policy in Europe isn't to blame for recent weak economic growth.
Wellink calls euro debate a 'non-discussion'
The Dutch central bank has slashed its forecast for economic growth this year to 0.4 pct from 1.7 pct, president Nout Wellink said in an interview with de Volkskrant.
US can't grow out of deficit, says Gramlich
The United States cannot grow its way out of its budget deficit problem despite recent improvement in budget and trade numbers, Federal Reserve Governor Edward Gramlich said on Wednesday 8 June.
Trichet says Europe needs reforms
Although Europe is poised for strong economic growth, it must continue with reforms if it is to fulfil its potential, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said in China on Tuesday 7 June.
Nishimura says BOJ should keep reserve target
Bank of Japan policy maker Kiyohiko Nishimura said the BOJ should maintain its target for the amount of money it pumps into the economy as a revival of export-led growth cannot be relied on yet.
Greenspan calls for flexibility on China yuan
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Tuesday 7 June urged China to ease tight controls on its exchange rate for the sake of its own financial health, but China's central bank chief said the country needs more time.
EU Finance Ministers try to bolster euro
European Union finance ministers on Tuesday 7 June attended a summit in Luxembourg and admitted the continuing fallout from the crisis surrounding the rejection of the EU's constitution had an economic impact.
Croatia battles pressure on euro-peg
The governor of Croatia's central bank was reported as saying the kuna faces growing market pressure to slip out of its managed peg to the euro.
ECB's Noyer rejects euro ditching talk
European Central Bank Governing Council Member Christian Noyer has dismissed talk suggesting countries may leave the euro and said the rejection of the European Union's constitution by two of its founding members did not threaten the single currency.
IMF's Rato says don't rule out ECB rate cut
The head of the International Monetary Fund has said a rate cut in the Eurozone cannot be ruled out if the EU economy weakens.
Russia 'won't react to rumours' over euro
A senior Russian central bank official said on Monday 6 June that reports Italy and Germany could drop the euro were "just rumours," and said Russia has no intention of changing its reserves structure.
Bahrain hosts Islamic banking supervision course
The Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) and the Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance (BIBF) is currently holding a five-day course on Islamic banking supervision.
IADB president announces his resignation
The president of the Inter-American Development Bank, Enrique V. Iglesias, on Tuesday 31 May informed the IDB Board of Executive Directors that he is resigning his post, effective September 30, 2005.
IMF's Rato pays tribute to James Wolfensohn
Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued a statement on Tuesday 31 Maypaying tribute to James D. Wolfensohn, the outgoing President of the World Bank.
Optimist joins ECB in gloomy times
This article profiles Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, who joined the European Central Bank's executive board on 1 June. All indications suggest that Bini Smaghi, far from rocking the boat, is firmly on board with the ECB's current approach to monetary policy, it…
You wanna be a central banker? Think again
Following the events in Thailand, this article published Friday 3 June suggests central bank governors around the world probably aren't sleeping well this week. What if this short-sighted, punish-the-central-banker mindset spread to other realms, it asks.
Ex-Thai central bank chief ordered to repay $4.6bn
The former governor of Thailand's central bank, Rerngchai Marakanond, was ordered on Tuesday 2 June to pay back the Bt186bn (US$4.57bn) spent in the futile defence of the currency on the eve of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Turkmen central bank chief fired for embezzlement
Shekersoltan Muhammedova, the acting governor of Turkmenistan's central bank, was sacked this week for "grave shortcomings and embezzlement of state funds," according to the BBC Monitoring Service which quoted the translation of a report on Turkmen TV…
Italian minister suggests return to lira
An Italian government minister has suggested the country should consider bringing back the euro.