News
BofE's George shrugs off fears of deflation
In an appearance before the Treasury select committee on Tuesday outgoing governor of the Bank of England Edward George said there was an "extremely" low risk of deflation in the UK and the US, acording to the Independent newspaper. He described the risk…
Namibian study says customs union hurts economy
A study carried out by the central bank of Namibia shows that the country's loss was approximately 549m Namibian dollars over a period of 12 years as a result of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Common Revenue Pool, according to a report by the…
2nd round of talks due Friday over Bulgaria c bank
A second session of talks has been scheduled for Friday to discuss candidates for governor of the central bank of Bulgaria, Novinite reports. The option of naming a third nominee will be considered at Friday's consultation.
Kuwait c bank 'panel' to monitor money-laundering
The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) is to establish a unit to monitor money-laundering operations, the Arab Times reports. The unit will be headed by the governor of the CBK Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah and will work in unison with the office of the Public…
Constitution could mean veto loss over ECB changes
The new draft European constitution could mean European member states would no longer have a veto over adjustments to the workings of the ECB, according to the Financial Times. The UK Treasury and the Foreign Office both said they would campaign for…
Norges Bank reduces interest rates by 1 per cent
Norges Bank, the central bank of Norway, cut its main interest rate by 1 per cent to 4 per cent on 25 June.
Regional central bank unviable - Tito Mboweni
Tito Mboweni, governor of the South African Reserve Bank, said on Tuesday 24 June "We have agreed we will do some research on what the feasibility is of a common central bank for South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia", according to Reuters…
Norway's c bank makes largest rate cut in 10 years
Norway's central bank cut its main interest rate on Wednesday 25 June by a percentage point, the biggest reduction since 1992, to revive a faltering economy in the world's third largest oil exporter. acording to Bloomberg.
Brazil adjusts inflation target upwards to 5.5%
Brazil revised its inflation target up on Tuesday 24 June to 5.5 per cent, reports Merco Press. The 2005 target was fixed at 4.5 per cent. Making the announcement, Brazilian Finance Minister Antonio Palocci emphasized that the government will keep…
RBNZ appoint Head of Operations
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Tuesday 24 June announced the appointment of Murray Bain as the Bank's Assistant Governor and Head of Operations. He will have particular responsibility for the Bank's financial, corporate, commercial and other internal…
BoJ Monetary Policy minutes, 30 April
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 30 April 2003, released 16 June. The minutes showed at least two of the BoJ's nine policy board members favour the introduction of a "reference rate of inflation" to halt deflation.
BOK governor may get more say over board members
A draft bill may give the Bank of Korea more influence over the appointment of members to its monetary policy board, Dow Jones reports. The proposed bill would increase the number of members the governor, Park Seung, can recommend to the board.
Belgian central bank shares drop on court ruling
A commercial court in Belgium has dismissed as unfounded a law suit calling for an extraordinary meeting of shareholders of the Belgian central bank, according to Reuters. The meeting was to ask for the dissolution of the Bank because a transfer of the…
Russian c bank to amend bank offshore capital law
Russian banks may be given a year to lower the share of their equity capital in offshore companies to 10% under new amendments to the law on banks and banking activities, according to Kommersant. If the amendments are passed, banks will be obliged to…
CBN fails to take its place on NBCB governing body
A month after the National Board for Community Banks (NBCB) was inaugurated the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has not attended any meetings nor fill its position on the board, NBCB sources confirmed to Vanguard, Nigeria.
Italy unveils a proposed 1 euro note
Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti has come out in favour of the introduction of €1 notes, RTE News reports. Belgium and Austria have signalled they too favour small denomination notes with at least five eurozone states thought to be backing the…
Venezuela c bank seeks easing of forex controls
The central bank of Venezuela has appealed for a relaxation of the foreign exchange control regime currently in place, according to a report in the Financial Times. Domingo Maza Zavala, a central bank director, said the bank has called on the finance…
Ukraine central bank to fine banks for laundering
A resolution which came into force on 21 June allows the National Bank of Ukraine to fine banks 0.01 per cent for every violation of banking legislation on money laundering, according to a report by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. The government hopes…
IMF deputy says U.S. Fed has room to cut rates
Deputy IMF managing director Eduardo Aninat said in a speech that the Federal Reserve has played a valuable role in sustaining domestic demand and "retains room to provide further stimulus should the recovery falter", according to a report by Reuters.
Brazil may raise inflation target
Economists have said that Brazil is likely to raise its inflation target to a more realistic level which could allow the central bank more room to reduce interest rates, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Bundesbank report reassures over deflation fears
In its June monthly report the Bundesbank acknowledged deflationary risk does exist, Reuters reports, but said that there was no sign it would turn into a damaging reality.
Bank of Canada appoint sSpecial Adviser
The Bank of Canada on Friday 20 June announced the appointment of Professor John Helliwell to the visiting-economist position of Special Adviser during 2003 and 2004.
HKMA warns of suspicious bank web site
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) alerted members of the public in Hong Kong on Thursday to a suspected internet fraud involving "Banquedenationale Bank".
Libya unifies dinar exchange rate
The deputy governor of the central bank of Libya, Farhat Qidra, said on Friday 20 June " The official foreign exchange rate has become unified now", according to the Arabic News. Previously different exchange rates applied for private companies and…