News
Greek central bank sells 20 tons of gold
The central bank of Greece has sold 20 tonnes of gold reserves. The Bank will invest the proceeds in a bonds portfolio including Greek government and other top-grade bank paper, its deputy governor Nikos Paleokrassas told Agence France-Presse.
Global central bankers to meet at weekend
Alan Greenspan will start the "Monetary Policy and Uncertainty" meeting of top central bankers on Friday with a keynote speech. The Jackson Hole, Wyoming gathering will bring together an audience of about 100 presidents or senior officials from the 12…
CBR to limit ruble strength
The Central Bank of Russia will move to limit the ruble's strength next year to help local producers compete with imports, despite IMF calls for a more flexible exchange rate policy reports the Moscow Times.
Peru inflation on target - new governor
The new governor of Peru's central bank, Javier Silva Ruete, expects inflation of 1.5 to 1.7% for the year, comfortably below the government's target of 2.5%, reports Reuters
It's cheque out time says Bank of Uganda governor
Lengthy clearing time and limited use mean the days are numbered for cheques in Uganda. The governor of the central bank, Elliot Mwebya, would ban them tomorrow if he could, reports allAfrica.com
114 officials take early retirement from SARB
An offer of an early retirement package from the South African Reserve Bank has met with 114 acceptances from officials over the age 50. The governor, Tito Mboweni, made the announcement of the measure, aimed at saving money, at the bank's AGM in…
Court rulings off-tangent, says Philippines cb
The Philippines central bank has attacked court rulings against it as being "off-tangent" and has urged it to reconsider its decision to suspend senior members, including the governor reports the Manila Times.
Duisenberg to skip September rate-setting meeting
Wim Duisenberg, European Central Bank president, will be on a panel of former central bankers on September 4th instead of chairing the rate setting meeting at the ECB, reports Bloomberg.
Rates slashed in Brazil
The Central Bank of Brazil reduced its main lending rate to 22%. The cut of two and a half percentage points was the largest in more than four years, reports the Financial Times.
Indonesia behind on FATF AML deadline
Indonesia looks set to miss an FATF deadline to strengthen its anti-moneylaundering measures and could face penalties on its international financial transactions as a result, a senior central bank official told Dow Jones.
Thai central bank upbeat on economy
The economy's future is bright in Thailand, according to the central bank. Governor Pridiyathorn Devakula says he still expects GDP to increase by 5.5% in line with his forecast, reports Stuff.co.nz of New Zealand.
BOE's tail between legs over IT fiasco
The Bank of England has approached its various account holders - including foreign central banks - with its tail between its legs after unforeseen problems arose in its payment system, according to the Financial Times. "It is now clear that the new…
Fiji: Pacific currency union out of the question
Fiji has rejected out of hand the idea of partaking in a Pacific currency union, according to the National Business Review. The prime minister said the idea was totally out of tune, far-fetched and unworkable. Australia's PM commented, "I think we should…
Egyptian cb reorganised
The Egyptian government has slimmed down the decision-making body of the Central Bank of Egypt, appointing a new seven-member committee to set short-term monetary policy and supervise the banking sector. This structure replaces the previous board of 11…
Broaddus: Fed can maintain low rates
The Fed can maintain an accommodative monetary policy until the US output gap narrows, said Alfred Broaddus, president of the Richmond Fed in a television interview on Wednesday, according to a report by Reuters.
UK MPC unanimous on August rate hold
All nine members of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee voted to leave interest rates on hold at 3.5%earlier this month, minutes of their meeting showed on Wednesday, reports the Financial Times. The quarter point cut in July had been…
Fuss over Mboweni's pay rise
Tito Mboweni, governor of the South African Reserve Bank, has been criticised for the fact that his pay rise of 9% this year turned out to be higher than the inflation target, reports the Mail & Guardian. He does not set his own salary however, the bank…
All's well in the euro zone
Contrary to incessant and repetitive media mutterings about the sickly euro zone economy, it would seem that in fact all is well. So well, in fact, that the ECB has decided that there is really no need for its forthcoming fortnightly meeting because…
Bank of Japan at the cutting edge
Toshihiko Fukui, Japan's central bank governor, keeps up with the times. He openly admits to entertaining his runaway addiction to the latest in mobile phone technology and is shortly to experience the unbridled pleasure of getting the NTT DoCoMo 505i…
Philippine central bankers to defend integrity
Four senior officials at the central bank in the Philippines, including the governor Rafael Buenaventura and his deputy Alberto Reyes, are getting heat from lawmen, accused of being "administratively liable of gross neglect of duty".
Cricketing King's unlikely heroes
When Mervyn King was the guest of honour last week at the lunch-time chat on BBC Radio 4's cricket programme "Test Match Special", he revealed his affection for - and knowledge of - the game as well as a certain ambition for socialite status. The…
Zimbabwe's central bankers urged to go
Things aren't getting any less desperate in Zimbabwe, which is in the thick of a crippling cash crisis, now that parliament is demanding that the central bank management just leave.
Donald Winn passes away
Fed old-timer Donald Winn sadly died at the age of 66 with pancreatic cancer after faithfully serving the central bank for almost half of his life. With 30 years on the clock, Winn had proved a precious asset to no less than four chairmen, in charge of…
RBNZ buys BIS shares
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand today announced that it had accepted an offer to become a shareholder in the BIS. The cost of the BIS shareholding is approximately NZ$100m (almost US$60m,) which has been raised from the Reserve Bank's balance sheet. In…