News
Brazil: PT may give central bank autonomy
BRAZIL - The workers' party (PT) may give the central bank 'operational autonomy', as early as this year, if Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is elected president, says PT president Jose Dirceu.
Israel debates monetary council for central bank
ISRAEL - The Knesset's Finance Committee will shortly be reopening discussion of a monetary council for the Bank of Israel, which would share some of the responsibilities belonging to the central bank governor, David Klein.
Italy's c bank governor makes rare budget comment
ITALY - Italy's new budget drew a less than enthusiastic response last Friday from Antonio Fazio, Italy's central bank governor, who said it relied heavily on one-off measures as a means to raise revenues and reduce the national budget deficit.
Shanghai Gold Exchange to open in late October
CHINA - Detailed rules governing the value added tax on gold trading have been clarified and the Shanghai Gold Exchange will formally open for business at the end of the month, exchange sources said on Sunday.
Kuwait to link dinar to dollar
KUWAIT - Kuwait, ending a 27-year-old policy, said yesterday it will fully link the dinar to the U.S. dollar from 2003 as part of a plan by six Gulf states to forge a single currency.
Japan 'has drafted' anti-deflation package
JAPAN - The Japanese government has drawn up the outline of an anti-deflation package and will finalise the draft towards the end of the month, the Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported on Sunday.
Leader makes anti-euro view clear at UK conference
UK - Iain Duncan Smith made a clear reference yesterday to his anti-euro stance - only the second time during the week the issue that divides the Tory party had been raised by a platform speaker.
French bank chief hits at government
FRANCE - Jean-Claude Trichet, governor of the Bank of France, on Friday added his weight to criticism of the centre-right government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin for not being more ambitious in its efforts to cut its budget deficit in line with European Union…
Non-bank credit card rules due in Thailand
THAILAND - Financial regulators were directed to draft measures to regulate credit cards issued by non-bank institutions by next month. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday chaired a meeting on a proposed new credit card bill.
BoJ to buy $16bn of banks' shareholdings
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan on Friday said it would buy yen 2,000bn ($16.5bn) of banks' shareholdings to make them less vulnerable to stock market swings.
Armenian MPs discuss amendment on money laundering
ARMENIA - The Armenian parliament has discussed in its first reading a package of draft laws on amendments to the current Armenian laws "On banks and banking activities", "On the Central Bank of Armenia" and "On credit activities" submitted by the…
Colombian president against c bank money issue
COLOMBIA - President Alvaro Uribe Velez told the country today that he does not agree with a new issue of money by the Bank of the Republic to finance Colombia's fiscal problem.
Bank of England News Release
NEWS RELEASE - Bank of England Maintains Interest Rates at 4.0%, 10 October.
European Central Bank Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Monetary policy decisions, 10 October.
IMF News Brief
NEWS BRIEF - IMF Managing Director Horst Kohler to Visit Mauritania, Algeria and Tunisia during 14-21 October.
Brussels tells new members not to rush into euro
BELGIUM - Brussels may be holding open the door to 10 new European Union members in 2004 but there were warnings yesterday that the candidate countries should not rush to join the euro.
Non-US banks may secure Sarbanes-Oxley concession
BELGIUM - Non-US banks may win a significant concession on tough new US legislation on corporate governance and accounting.
Takenaka calls on BoJ to help fight deflation
JAPAN - Heizo Takenaka, Japan's economy minister and the new head of the Financial Services Agency, on Wednesday called on the Bank of Japan to co-operate with the government on tackling deflation.
Fraga urges candidates to clarify intentions
BRAZIL - Arminio Fraga, Brazil's central bank chief, on Wednesday called on the two remaining presidential candidates to deepen their commitment to sound economic policies and help calm investor concerns.
Irish central bank accused of acting like Rambo
IRELAND - Insurance brokers have accused the Central Bank of acting as a 'Rambo regulator' which discriminates against smaller brokerage operations.
Banking regulator and c bank could merge-Venezuela
VENEZUELA - The administration of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez might eliminate bank regulatory agency Sudeban and transfer its powers to the central bank, local daily El Nacional reported.
Brazil imposes stricter bank equity requirements
BRAZIL - Brazil's central bank has raised the equity requirement for banks holding US dollars, in a bid to halt the local currency's slide against the dollar, Brazilian central bank regulations director Sergio Darcy was quoted as saying by local press.
Polymer notes not now: RBI
INDIA - The Reserve Bank of India has said that there is no immediate plan to introduce polymer or plastic currency notes to replace the existing paper notes.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Hong Kong's Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures Released, 7 October.