News
G7 and ECB Central Bankers' Salaries
This article published by Reuters looks in-depth at the salaries of G7 central bank heads, Federal Reserve Board Governors, ECB President, Vice-President and Executive Board Members. It reveals, among other things, that the Governor of the Bank of France…
Alan Greenspan, the central bankers' poor relation
A survey published by Reuters last week found Alan Greenspan to be the lowest paid G7 central bank head earning a mere US$ 171,900. Jean-Claude Trichet's salary, by contrast, rings in at the equivalent of US$ 341,404. But this is topped by "little"…
Bank of Japan maintains current monetary policy
The Bank of Japan said in a statement released on Friday 31 October after its Policy Board meeting that it would continue with its ultra-loose policy aimed at keeping the overnight loan rate at virtually zero, according to AFX Europe.
EU inflation stays above ECB ceiling
According to provisional figures for eurozone inflation, released on Friday 31 October by Eurostat, the rate remained above the ECB's 2 per cent ceiling in October at 2.1 per cent, the Financial Times reports.
Concern over financial watchdog reform in Hungary
The National Bank of Hungary has issued a statement, reports Kossuth Radio, stressing that there is no need to reorganise the State Supervision of Financial Institutions and saying that the regulator is carrying out its duties appropriately.
BoJ expects deflation to continue into 2005
In its twice-yearly economic report released Friday the Bank of Japan said that it expects deflation to continue through to March 2005, according to AFX Asia. "Consumer prices are forecast to continue posting small declines in this and next fiscal year …
Iran to print higher denomination notes
The central bank of Iran has said that it intends to print 20,000 rial banknotes, double the value of the current highest denomination banknote, according to AFP. The new notes will be issued in February next year.
Duisenberg sees danger EU stability pact will fail
Wim Duisenberg, whose term as president of the ECB finished on Friday 31 October, , said in a TV interview with ChannelNewsAsia that "The danger is certainly there" that the EU's stability and growth pact could fail. He warned that should this happen it…
Zimbabwe issues $150bn bearers' cheques
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe says it has so far issued $153 billion worth of bearers' cheques onto the cash-starved market, reports the Zimbabwe Independent. The bank however, refused to shed light on market speculation that it had stopped printing…
Central Bank of Iraq to establish stock exchange
The Central Bank of Iraq has decided to establish a stock exchange that would operate on a daily basis instead of three times a week as proposed previously, MENAFN reported.
Polish monetary policy council backs government
Poland's Monetary Policy Council has taken a rare position, according to Interfax, of directly supporting the government's plan for administrative and welfare spending restraint, calling it "right and very necessary".
IMF backs Australia's economy
Australia's economy has been praised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which predicted continued strong economic growth on the back of a sound fiscal and monetary strategy, NineMSN reported.
U.S. economy can stand up to terror-Fed's Broaddus
Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Alfred Broaddus said on 30 October the Sept. 11 attacks did little long-term damage to the U.S. economy, Reuters reported.
Central bank official: China to keep RMB stable
Mu Huaipeng, deputy director of the People's Bank of China's currency policy department said Thursday that China will continue to adopt a sound monetary policy in order to maintain the stability of the renminbi, a report from Xinhuanet said.
ECB criticises 'unsustainable' US economy
ECB chief economist Otmar Issing has singled out the US tactic of "artificially stimulating the economy by large budget deficits and inflationary monetary policy" as "no viable option", EUpolitix reported.
ECB chief warns on need to keep pact
Wim Duisenberg told EU finance ministers Wednesday night that the EU stability and growth pact could unravel if Governments changed the rules of the fiscal framework, BizWorld reported. "I acknowledge that these are not easy times, that conditions are…
UAE central bank offloads gold reserves
Statistics from the United Arab Emirates central bank show that while the value of gold reserves was at Dh333 million until April, it has come down to Dh166 million in May and continued at the same level during June as well, Gulf News said.
Visa drops action against RBA
Visa has dropped its appeal against the court ruling against it in the credit card reform action against the Reserve Bank of Australia, according to a report in the Herald Sun. The company's international board decided to quit the action after a meeting…
Ferguson takes oath for second term at Fed
Roger Ferguson was sworn in for a second four year term as Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve on 28 October. Chairman Alan Greenspan administered the oath in his office.
Statement by Federal Reserve after FOMC meeting
The Federal Reserve said in a statement released 28 October that its main reason for maintaining the federal funds rate at 1 percent was because "the risk of inflation becoming undesirably low remains the predominant concern for the foreseeable future".
China to issue coins to commemorate Olympic games
The People's Bank of China is to issue a set of commemorative coins to mark the Olympic Games, which is to be held in Beijing in 2008, Xinhuanet reported.
Fed says c banks cut holdings of US Treasuries
Foreign central banks were aggressive sellers of US Treasury debt, dumping $11.54 billion-worth over the week to $793.69 billion. In contrast they were buyers of agency debt, expanding their holdings by $4.61 billion to $199.56 billion, according to…
Report says Bundesbank to cut 5,000 jobs
The Bundesbank is set to cut its workforce by up to a third a report in German financial daily Boersen-Zeitung said. A Bundesbank spokesman insisted that no decision had been made yet, however, the AFP news agency reported.
Chile's central bank rules out forex intervention
The central bank of Chile said Tuesday it would not attempt to slow the appreciation of the peso. Board member Jose de Gregorio told reporters, Reuters said, that the Bank intervenes in exceptional cases but we are far from that situation.