News
RBNZ appoints Spencer assistant governor
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced on 4 August the appointment of Grant Spencer as Assistant Governor/Head of Economics.
PBOC appoints assistants to the governor
The People's Bank of China has appointed three assistants to the governor in what is seen as a final stroke to the planned management overhaul after Zhou Xiaochuan took the helm at the central bank at the end of 2002, the 21st Century Business Herald…
Bangladesh Bank hires modernisation consultant
Bangladesh Bank will hire a consultant on a two-year contract under a central bank strengthening project, funded mostly by World Bank credit, Matamat reported quoting official sources.
Bomb threat forces People's Bank to evacuate HQ
The headquarters of the People's Bank of China was evacuated after a man threatened to blow up the building, a senior official of the central bank said this week, according to AFP.
New South Korean regulator named
Roh Moo-hyun, South Korea's president, named Yoon Jeung-hyun, a director of the Asian Development Bank, as the new head of the country's top financial regulator this week.
Brazil's Meirelles denies fresh allegations
Brazil's central bank chief Henrique Meirelles on Thursday 5 August denied he evaded taxes after new allegations he failed to declare all his assets to Brazilian tax authorities. The leader of the main opposition party called on Mr Meirelles to resign…
Annual meetings of IMF and World Bank, 2-3 October
The Executive Boards of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group have decided that the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors, along with related meetings and events, will take place in Washington, D.C. on October 2-3, 2004.
RBNZ's Bollard defends rate rises
The governor of New Zealand's central bank, Alan Bollard, has defended lifting interest rates to the highest level in the developed world, citing pervasive capacity constraints and inflation pressures.
Bank of England lifts rates to 4.75%, ECB holds
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted to raise the Bank's repo rate by 0.25 percentage points on Thursday 5 August. The Bank said that its decision reflected continued strong growth which is likely to lead to rising inflationary pressures…
Rato promises more effective IMF
Rodrigo Rato on Wednesday 4 August promised changes at the International Monetary Fund that would ensure its assistance to Africa was more effective and debt relief more readily available.
Japan report solid economic recovery, warns on oil
"The economy is recovering at a solid pace as improvements in the corporate sector are extending into the household sector," the Cabinet Office said in a monthly economic report on Thursday 5 August.
OECD says Germany unlikely to meet deficit targets
Germany is unlikely to meet its fiscal deficit targets in 2004 and 2005, and its growth forecast "appears to be on the optimistic side" the OECD said in a report on the German economy.
Research says BoE's MPC lacks 'vigorous debate'
Research published on Thursday 5 August suggested the Bank of England's interest rate setting Monetary Policy Committee lacks "vigorous debate" partly explained by the increasingly dominant influence of Mervyn King.
RBA 2004 Conference: Future of inflation targeting
This year's Reserve Bank of Australia conference to be held 9-10 August is focusing on various issues related to inflation targeting including: the evolution of inflation-targeting regimes and the measurement of inflation. Drafts of the papers will be…
Study says Fed doesn't target stock market
The Federal Reserve doesn't target stock market prices directly when it sets monetary policy, Reuters said quoting a Fed study due out this week.
Eurozone recovery at risk, says IMF
The eurozone's recovery remains fragile and is vulnerable to weak consumer demand and the risk of a further rise in the already strong euro, the International Monetary Fund warned the single currency's member states on Tuesday.
RBA holds rates
The Reserve Bank of Australia announced Wednesday morning, 4 August, that the official cash rate would remain at 5.25 per cent, where it has been since December.
Japan says China must change fx system to enter G7
Japan's Ministry of Finance urges China to modify its tightly managed float of the yuan before it can be approved for entry into the Group of Seven nations, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, citing an unidentified senior government official.
Federal Reserve announce changes to check services
The Federal Reserve Banks announced on 2 August further changes to increase the efficiency of their check-processing operations. Check processing operations at nine sites will be discontinued and the volumes at these sites shifted to other Federal…
No stocks bought by BOJ in late July
Data released on Tuesday 3 August showed that the Bank of Japan did not buy any stocks from domestic banks in late July.
Bundesbank adopts Autonomy data package
The Deutsche Bundesbank is to deploy technology from Autonomy to run an advanced information retrieval system for 12,000 employees.
Brazil's cb has 'autonomy' on rates:, Palocci
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gave the central bank power to set interest rates as it sees fit to control inflation, said Antonio Palocci, Brazil's finance minister, in an interview with the Epoca newsmagazine.
Inside help suspected in IMF, World Bank threat
US counter-terrorism officials have told officials at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund that they think plans for a possible attack on the two financial institutions were so detailed that terrorists must have had inside help, the New York…
Australian PM says no case for rate rise
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said that there is no case for an interest rate rise. The Reserve Bank of Australia was due to hold a Board Meeting on 3 August, with most analysts expecting interest rates to remain unchanged.