News
Tito Mboweni convenes MPC meeting on 10 September
Announcement by Mr TT Mboweni, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, on the Special Monetary Policy Committee Meeting, 5 September.
Fed's McTeer: US jobless rate may drop by year-end
Dallas Fed President Robert McTeer said on Thursday 4 September, that with an upturn in US growth unemployment could fall by the end of the year, according to Reuters. He told reporters "It could easily be under 6 percent by year-end".
IMF open to idea of Asian Monetary Fund
IMF managing director Horst Kohler, addressing a luncheon meeting in Malaysia, said that the Fund is open to the idea of an Asian Monetary Fund and that the IMF could provide constructive dialogue on the idea, according to a report by Reuters.
New Hong Kong banknotes
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has announced the forthcoming issue of a new series of Hong Kong banknotes in 2003 and 2004. A number of advanced security features have been added to the new banknotes to enhance their anti-counterfeiting capabilities,…
'Yes' camp narrows gap in Sweden's euro poll
The gap narrowed to just 5 percentage points between the No and the Yes camps in Sweden on Wednesday 3 September in the campaign to join the euro, according tothe Financial Times. A poll by Demoskop gave the No camp a 44 per cent to 39 per cent lead, the…
OECD urges ECB to be prepared to cut rates
The OECD has said that fiscal measures are unlikely have a significant impact on growth and urged the ECB to be ready to cut interest rates if further signs of weakness in the eurozone economy appeared, according to the Financial Times. OECD chief…
China agrees to allow free yuan float 'eventually'
China's central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, struck a conciliatory tone with US treasury secretary John Snow on Wednesday 3 September, reported the New York Times. He promised that the value of the yuan would eventually be determined by market forces…
RBI to kick off Basel transition with 8 banks
As part of a move towards the new New Basel Capital Accord the Reserve Bank of India has chosen eight banks - public, private and foreign - as part of the RBI's pilot run on implementing the risk-based supervision for banks, according to Business…
SA Finance Minister on Mboweni's pay hike
South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has commented on central bank governor Tito Mboweni's 12% pay increase, according to Finance 24, saying that the matter could be taken up by the finance portfolio committee of the National Assembly.
New Zealand leaves Official Cash Rate unchanged
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has decided to leave the Official Cash Rate unchanged at 5 per cent, 4 September. Governor Alan Bollard said "Current monetary policy settings are consistent with medium-term inflation remaining comfortably within the…
Bank of England holds key rate steady
The Bank of England maintained interest rates at 3.5% on Thursday 3 September, as widely expected, reports Associated Press.
ECB cuts euro-zone growth forecast, holds rates
The European Central Bank held its main interest rate steady at 2 per cent on Thursday 4 September, according to Reuters, and cut its estimate of euro zone growth to "slightly below" the mean of its range of 0.4-1 per cent. The slight downward revision…
ECB would be 'delighted' if Sweden joins euro zone
At the ECB's press conference on Thursday 4 September, the deputy president Lucas Papademos said that the European Central Bank would be "delighted" if Sweden was to join the euro but that the decision was for Sweden to take, eports EU Business.
Housing assistance to RBA staff
In a press release the Reserve Bank of Australia attempts to set straight what it calls "quite misleading" references in the press to housing assistance the RBA provides to a small proportion of its staff, 3 September.
Bank of Canada lowers interest rates
The Bank of Canada lowered its target for the overnight rate by 1/4 percentage point to 2 3/4 per cent on 3 September. In its press release the Bank said since the last interest rate announcement on 15 July, inflation pressures have continued to ease.
Fukui says no quick end to BOJ easing policy
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui on Wednesday sought to calm the bond market, Reuters reported, saying "You can rest assured that the ultra-loose policy will stay in place as long as the CPI (consumer price index) is falling or only showing weak…
One week for a deal as IMF team lands in Argentina
An IMF team arrived in Argentina Tuesday with a week to finalise a loan deal and avoid a damaging default, Reuters said. The IMF so far has been unable to convince Argentina to implement unpopular policies the fund says are necessary for a full recovery.
Norway's central bank may cut rates again
Bank of Norway chief Svein Gjedrem repeated Tuesday that inflation is likely to be below 2.5 percent over the next two years leading to speculation that Norges Bank may continue its recent series of interest rate cuts, Aftenposten reported.
RBA unmoved by growth slump, leaves rates on hold
The Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates on hold for the 15th consecutive month on Wednesday amid the accelerating global economy, according to a report from AFR.
Bank of France's Trichet defends EU deficit rules
Bank of France governor Jean-Claude Trichet warned Wednesday that countries due to join the European Union should prepare carefully for subsequent membership of the euro zone, a report from Agence France-Presse said. He also stood by the much criticised…
Reddy to take over as RBI chief on Saturday
YV Reddy will take up his post as governor of the Reserve bank of India for a five-year term beginning on September 6th, the RBI said Wednesday a report from Reuters said.
Hitachi develops RFID chip for bank notes
Hitachi has developed an RFID (radio frequency identification) chip that requires no external antenna and makes possible the embedding of chips in bank notes, IDG News Service said. A Hitachi spokesman denied media reports Tuesday that the company was…
BOJ quietly fixing data errors
The Bank of Japan has been making corrections to its web site, the Japan Times reported. The errors were described as "minor" by BoJ officials and relates to the average outstanding reserves kept by private-sector banks at the BOJ over the past five…
Swedish PM takes a swipe at eurozone economies
With Sweden's referendum on the euro fast approaching, Goran Persson has hit out at the fiscal policies in leading eurozone economies Germany, France and Italy saying the three should have done more to put their public finances in order and build up…