News
RBA holds fire on interest rates
The Reserve Bank of Australia held interest rates steady at 4.75 per cent on Tuesday 1 April in a widely expected move, reported The Australian Financial Review.
Riksbank's Heikensten in favour of ECB vote deal
Swedish central bank chief Lars Heikensten has come out in favour of the agreement to reform the European Central Bank's Governing Council, but he also wants more transparency from the institutions.
E.African c b bosses support monetary union study
A meeting of east African central bankers has called for a greater role for central banks in the conduct of monetary policy and supervision of the financial sector. The EAC also agreed to intensify cooperation and information sharing between the central…
Russia takes Latvia off currency control list
Russia's central bank has removed the tight currency controls which it had in place against Latvia. These are the last of the restrictions adopted by Russia's central bank regarding Latvia in 1998, according to a report from the baltic News Service.
Serb PM urges central bank to adapt exchange rate
Under a special law the National Bank of Serbia will soon be officially recognised, Serbian premier Zoran Zivkovic said on Tuesday 21 March, according to a report by the tanjug new agency. He also called for the central bank to listen to the market and…
OECD chief economist calls for ECB rate cut
A newspaper has quoted the OECD's top economist as saying "there is a clear-cut case" for a cut in the ECB's interest rate by a "significant" amount, according to Reuters.
Brazil real gains on central bank reform hopes
Increasing optimism that Brazil's central bank will gain greater independence pushed the real up against the dollar in trading, says the Financial Times. The legislation to be presented Wednesday is the first of a series of radical reforms designed to…
Taiwan's c bank chief touts herbs to fight SARS
With the deadly virus Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) spreading rapidly around the world, Reuters reported on Wednesday 2 April that Perng Fai-nan, governor of the central bank of China (Taiwan) has suggested a mixture of vinegar, crushed garlic…
Central Bank of Brazil COPOM Minutes
The Banco Central Do Brasil has published the minutes of the 82nd meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (COPOM), 18 and 19 March. The Copom decided to maintain the Selic rate at 26.5%. However, the committee said that there are considerable risks to…
Chile's central bank president Massad resigns
The president of the central bank of Chile, Carlos Massad, tendered his resignation on Monday March 31 , according to Reuters. The move comes two months after Mr Massad's secretary was arrested for selling market-sensitive information to Inverlink, a…
Boston Fed's Minehan urges vigilance on US economy
Cathy Minehan, President of Boston Federal Reserve, said in a speech on Monday 31 March that vigilance will be necessary following a raft of negative economic data, according to a report by Reuters. She also described the risks to the economy from war…
Fed's Bies - Gauging war impact may take some time
Fed board member Susan Bies said on Monday 31 March thatit was difficult to separate out the effect of war on the economy compared to other fundamental economic issues, Reuters reports. It could take a few months for a clear picture to emerge as to what…
SARB may block access to banking information
Governor of the SARB Tito Mboweni told South Africa's parliament on Friday that he may seek to prevent confidential banking information entering the public domain, reports Business World
Russian gold reserves may rise one-third in 2003
Russian central bank first deputy governor Oleg Vyugin said on Monday that the new oil price forecast could see the central bank increase its reserves by US$14bn during the year, according to a report by ITAR-TASS news agency.
Richmond Fed's Broaddus: Economy will weather war
Richmond Fed president Alfred Broaddus has said economic recovery in the US will be strong enough to ride out the Iraq war. The economy should be "solid enough" to withstand current shocks, he said.
Callum McCarthy confirmed as FSA Chairman
UK Chancellor Gordon Brown today (1 April) announced that Callum McCarthy has been appointed as Chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
Jordanian c b approval needed over Iraqi funds
Jordan's central bank has told banks to secure its authorisation before allowing the withdrawal of funds from Iraqi accounts. AFP reports that the governor of the central bank of Jordan said the measures would help guarantee the security of the banking…
NIESR; euro 'would boost economic growth' in UK
Influential think tank, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research has said that UK entry to the euro would boost economic growth significantly over the long term, according to a report in the Financial Times. Main benefits would be the…
ECB's Constancio: Little room to move on rates
Bank of Portugal chief Vitor Constancio said the war in Iraq poses the threat of global recession and that little room for manoeuvre exists in the way of interest rate easing at the moment.
Mexico tightens monetary policy
Mexico's central bank tightened monetary policy on Friday March 28, according to a report in the Financial Times. The bank does not change interest rates but uses a mechanism known as the "corto" which limits the amount of liquidity available to the…
Call for further anti-deflation measures from BoJ
Heizo Takenaka, Japan's chief financial regulator, has called for further anti-deflation steps to be taken at the Bank of Japan's next meeting in early April. According to Asahi Shimbun, Takenaka said on Sunday 30 march that increasing the volume of…
Finance Minister on Bank of France reorganisation
The French finance minister, Francis Mer, has given assurance that the expected reorganisation at the Bank of France will not involve redundancies, according to Le Figaro.
ECB: no requests for Duisenberg to stay
Contrary to some reports the ECB has said it has no knowledge of any official request to Wim Duisenberg for him to stay on as president, according to Reuters.
Another term as governor for RBA's Macfarlane?
The Australian Treasurer, Peter Costello, speaking on Sunday 30 March intensified speculation that Ian Macfarlane would be given a second seven-year term as governor of the RBA saying he has obviously discharged his duties 'very finely', according to a…