News
Plastic Rs 500-notes coming soon in India
INDIA - Plastic money will soon gain currency in India. Currency notes, printed on a special, thin PVC (poly vinyl chloride) film, are likely to replace their paper counterparts from 2003.
Chicago Fed national activity index drops in Aug
US - The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said on Monday its National Activity Index fell in August to its lowest level since December 2001, dragged down by weakness in production and employment data.
NY Fed's McDonough says Brazil should be fine
US - New York Federal Reserve President William McDonough said on Monday that the crisis of confidence in Brazil would likely turn out all right.
IMF, World Bank meetings in 2006 in Singapore
SINGAPORE - The International Monetary Fund and World Bank's annual meetings are likely to attract 15,000 delegates and S$30 million when they are staged at Singapore's Suntec City in 2006.
Thai cen bank - Banks must improve risk management
THAILAND - The Bank of Thailand has revised its regulations related to the way financial institutions review lending, loan obligations and related reporting.
Polish central bank confirms 2003 inflation target
POLAND - Criticism of the government's 2003 budget draft has begun to eat into some of its expectations. The Monetary Policy Council (RPP) and central bank are especially dubious with regard to the economic growth rate, set at 3.5 percent by Finance…
Egyptian foreign reserves rise to 14.147bn dollars
EGYPT - The Egyptian economy has rebounded by showing a marked improvement in June 2002 in comparison to the previous month, according to a report released by the Central Bank of Egypt.
A Factsheet from the IMF - Money Laundering
FACTSHEET - The IMF and the Fight Against Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism, 31 August 2002.
A Factsheet from the IMF - Good Governance
FACTSHEET - The IMF and Good Governance, 21 August 2002.
Blejer set for Bank of England role
UK - Mario Blejer, former governor of Argentina's central bank, is heading for a calmer climate and will take up the post of director at the Bank of England's Centre for Central Banking Studies.
Russian Duma approves central bank board nominees
RUSSIA - The State Duma today confirmed seven nominees for the board of directors of the Central Bank of Russia.
BOK moves to curb excessive liquidity
KOREA - The central bank will reduce preferential credit to local banks during the fourth quarter of the year, in a move to control excessive liquidity in the market.
SARB reject call for changes to inflation target
SOUTH AFRICA - South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Tito Mboweni on Wednesday dismissed calls for changes to the inflation target measure, and stressed the central bank had to remain vigilant against rising inflation.
Central bank says Swaziland slowdown continues
SWAZILAND - The tiny kingdom of Swaziland is two years into a slump and no end is in sight, its central bank has said.
Brazil real opens at record low on debt, election
BRAZIL - Brazil's beleaguered currency opened at a fresh record low on Friday, pressured by ongoing election jitters and concerns the central bank would have trouble rolling over maturing debt, traders said.
Minutes indicate fed concern about stocks
US - Federal Reserve policy makers believe that a decline in the stock market could be the catalyst for another rate cut, according to the minutes of the 13 August meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.
Appointment at the Bank of England, 26 September
PRESS RELEASE - Professor Mario Blejer has been appointed as the new Director of the Centre for Central Banking Studies (CCBS) at the Bank of England. He will also be an Adviser to the Governor.
IMF News Brief
NEWS BRIEF - IMF Managing Director Horst Kohler Meets Colombian President lvaro Uribe, 25 September.
IMF Press Briefing on the World Economic Outlook
PRESS BRIEFING - Transcript of a Press Briefing on the World Economic Outlook by Kenneth Rogoff, Economic Counsellor and Director, Research Department, International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C., Wednesday, 25 September 2002.
Queen Elizabeth Knights Fed Chairman Greenspan
SCOTLAND - U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday and said he would always cherish the honour.
Czechs unlikely to get euro soon
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech Republic will not be able to adopt the European single currency before 2007 at the earliest because of its huge budget deficit, the country's new finance minister has said.
Brazil sees Sept current account surplus of $1 bln
BRAZIL - Brazil's central bank on Thursday forecast a current account balance of payments surplus of $1 billion in September.
New deadline for balanced budgets splits euro club
FRANCE - A proposal by Brussels to allow euro-zone states more time to balance their budgets has blown up into a big row between EU countries that have been making sacrifices and four members -- France, Germany, Italy and Portugal -- that were falling…
IMF hails Russian banking reforms
RUSSIA - The International Monetary Fund has hailed measures in Russia to reform the country's banking system.