News
Vietnam central bank plans gold purchase
Vietnam's central bank has given the go-ahead for the country to import up to 10 tonnes of extra gold in the first quarter of 2004.
Hungary's future finance chief signals euro delay
Hungary's future finance minister signalled on Thursday 8 January that the country's 2008 target for joining the eurozone may have to be delayed.
PBOC appoints clearing bank for RMB business
The People's Bank of China has appointed Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited as the Clearing Bank for RMB Business in Hong Kong.
Finance chiefs to meet in Florida on February 6
G7 finance chiefs and central bank governors will meet in Florida for a two-day summit from February 6, the US Treasury has announced.
Source says BOJ spent Y3 trln in intervention
Japan, worried that a strong yen could hurt an export-led recovery in its economy, spent about three trillion yen ($28.3 billion) in the first two days of this week to hold the currency down, market sources said on Wednesday 7 January.
Court battle may loom over EU Pact
EU finance ministers reportedly acted illegally when they suspended EU budget rules to spare France and Germany disciplinary action over their excessive deficits.
Regulatory reform may face delay in Italy
The Italian government is unlikely to debate a regulatory reform bill this week and instead will wait for Parliament to finish an investigation, a minister said.
Counterfeit money major concern for SEACEN
Money counterfeiting has become a central issue for member countries in the South East Asian Central Bank (SEACEN), Bank Indonesia (BI) Deputy Governor Maulana R. Ibrahim said on Monday 5 January.
Modified notes agreed by Russian central bank
The Board of Directors of the Russian Central Bank has given the OK to the introduction of modified 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 ruble notes.
Fed's Guynn says deflation threat low
Atlanta Fed President Jack Guynn said Monday the risk of wholesale price declines in the U.S. economy is now much lower.
China to further open gold market
The People's Bank of China has stopped taking in gold of purity below 99.95 percent from Chinese firms in a small step to open the precious metals sector further.
Dollar continues slide against euro
The dollar hit a new record low against the euro on Tuesday in broad selling but held on just above a three-year low on the yen, helped by rumoured Japanese yen-selling intervention.
RBI's Reddy to discuss growth and inflation
Governor Y.V.Reddy of the Reserve Bank of India said on Tuesday he will present his reassessment of the Indian economy at a trade body's annual meeting on Wednesday.
DIW calls for ECB rate cut
The DIW, one of Germany's top economic institutes, has called on the European Central Bank to cut interest rates to stimulate eurozone domestic demand.
Japan's PM says economy seeing 'bright signs'
Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Monday at his New Year's news conference that the country was finally emerging from its prolonged slowdown.
UAE central bank to upgrade UAESWITCH
The UAE Central Bank has announced the signing of a contract with S2 Systems to upgrade the UAESWITCH system.
Central bank officials criticise Israel's Klein
A report claims that the Bank of Israel has been shaken recently by an internal crisis which saw governor David Klein presented with a growing list of complaints from department heads.
Uganda's central bank suffers unprecedented loss
The central bank of Uganda says it made a loss of Shs 7.7 billion in the year to June 30 2003 as a result of low returns from its investments abroad.
Bank Negara unveils new anti-copy notes
Bank Negara Malaysia has unveiled its new RM10 notes which contain an anti-copy security feature in the form of a holographic strip on the front.
Eurozone inflation rate falls in December
The annual inflation rate for the 12-nation eurozone fell to 2.1 per cent in December from 2.2 per cent the previous month, according to an initial estimate by Eurostat data agency released on Monday 5 January.
Italy plans new financial regulator
Italian finance minister Giulio Tremonti has said he wants a new financial regulator which will have authority over whole spectrum of financial services to reduce risks of another Parmalat-type scandal.
Mosul Central Bank rebuilding begins
Work has begun to rebuild Mosul Central Bank, destroyed in the Iraq war.
Former deputy governor of BoE knighted
David Clementi, former deputy governor of the Bank of England has been awarded a knighthood on the New Year honours list.
Greenspan congratulated for good year's work
Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve and his colleagues havebeen praised for their work in 2003 by private economists in a survey.