News
Irish central bank outlines regulatory duties
IRELAND - The central bank has written to the Government on the scope of its regulatory duties in the aftermath of the Allfirst fraud, which cost AIB dollars $691 million.
NZ closes applications for central bank chief post
NEW ZEALAND - Applications for the position of Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand have closed but officials will not comment on how many candidates have expressed an interest in the position so far.
Brazil's central bank pays to keep money at home
BRAZIL - Brazil's central bank, seeking to stem an outflow of money from the country, offered banks the ability to swap local currency interest rates for dollar-linked yields.
US economy - Explaining outlook is Fed's challenge
FEATURE - Federal Reserve officials meet Tuesday and Wednesday to accomplish two tasks: to set the course of interest rates and outline a view on the U.S. economy.
South Korean c bank considering currency exchange
SOUTH KOREA - The South Korean central bank said Friday that it is preparing for the matter of converting South and North Korean won ready for eventual Korean unification.
US brings colour to new 'greenback' notes
US - The end of the greenback could be close, it is reported. The US government on Thursday announced plans to introduce other colours on dollar bills to help tourists tell the different notes apart.
Bank of Canada's promotional video
VIDEO - the Bank of Canada had released an online video detailing how the bank maintains the value of the Canadian dollar.
ECB sounds the alarm
ECB - The prospect of fudging the EU stability pact, which stipulates a 3% budget deficit ceiling for national governments, drew criticism from ECB officials on Thursday.
Canada- outspoken board member not re-appointed
CANADA - Raymond Garneau, a former Quebec Liberal finance minister, has not been reappointed to the the board of the Bank of Canada after he publicly called for Prime Minister Jean Chretien to resign.
CB of China to circulate new NT $2,000 bill
TAIWAN - The Central Bank of China will launch a new purple coloured NT$2,000 bill on July 1 to complete the planned release of five different face value bills, including NT$100, NT$200, NT$500 and NT$1,000 denominations.
Cabinet reduces number on board at CB of China
TAIWAN - The board of directors, which is responsible responsible for monetary policy at the Central Bank of China, is to be reduced to seven from the current 15 people according to a draft bill passed by the cabinet on Thursday.
Uruguay floats the peso
URUGUAY- The currency band system for the peso was brought to an abrupt end amid fears of contagion from the crisis in Argentina and market woes in Brazil. The central bank said there would be only limited intervention to prop up the currency.
Australian reserves on the up
AUSTRALIA - The Reserve Bank took advantage of the local dollar's strength against the greenback last month to sell a net $170 million in local currency on the spot market and add to its foreign exchange reserves.
Deal agreed on Thai bonds
THAILAND - The Thai central bank and government on Friday unveiled a 780 billion baht ($18 billion) bond issue to share the burden of financial sector bailout after the crisis of five years ago. The government will pay the interest on the loan, but the…
Euro goes to court over trade mark dispute
EUROPE - The European Commission will be forced to defend the design of the euro symbol in court today less than six months after the introduction of the single currency. The emblem has become the subject of a trademark battle with Thomas Cook and…
Australia calls for regulation overhaul
AUSTRALIA - Australia on Wednesday called for increased co-operation among national securities regulators after revealing that local investors had been cheated of at least A$400m in just three years by illegal offshore telemarketing scams.
Figures show Argentina's economy shrinking
ARGENTINA - Argentina's economy shrank 16% during the first three months of this year the government has revealed, plunging the country ever deeper into a recession that has now lasted for three-and-a-half years.
US Fed scare proves to be a false alarm
US - Staff at the Washington headquarters of the US Federal Reserve have been allowed back into their offices after an earlier bomb scare proved to be a false alarm.
Brazil maintains steady interest rates
BRAZIL - Brazil's central bank yesterday maintained its prime interest rate at 18.5 per cent for the third consecutive month after recent market turmoil began fuelling inflation fears.
ECB Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Schedules for the meetings of the Governing Council and the General Council of the ECB and the related press conferences in 2003, 20 June.
Vision not aggression says Polish c bank chief
POLAND - "There is no conflict between the Polish central bank and the government when it comes to real economic issues. What we see is the government's aggression against an independent state institution, something unheard of in the civilized world. In…
Effort made to bring Poland closer to eurozone
POLAND - The Finance Ministry and the Central Bank (NBP) have set up a joint group on the strategy of bringing the Polish economy closer to the Eurozone, which will discuss issues related to the zloty exchange rate strategy in the period of entering the…
Issing - Stability pact talk extremely detrimental
GERMANY - The debate on modifying the EU's stability pact is "extremely detrimental," said European Central Bank chief economist Otmar Issing in an interview with German weekly magazine WirtschaftsWoche.
SA Reserve Bank to learn about inflation targeting
SOUTH AFRICA - Experts from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) are to learn more about inflation targeting from their Canadian counterparts, in terms of an agreement signed in Pretoria on Wednesday.