News
Israel approves Bill to redefine c bank powers
ISRAEL - Israeli ministers have approved a bill that would redefine the Bank of Israel's powers, but allowed the finance ministry and central bank time to propose changes to the bill to resolve continuing disagreements.
House votes to end banking ban
US - The Senate House has voted to end a 70-year-old ban on banks paying interest on business checking accounts.
ECB sees upturn but slower CPI decline
GERMANY - The European Central Bank on Thursday maintained its assessment that the euro zone economy was recovering but said high oil prices could lead to slightly higher inflation than predicted earlier this year.
Gold market calmer on Welteke reassurance
GERMANY - The gold market was reassured by the statement made by Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke on Thursday that the international agreement limiting gold sales by central banks was worth extending once it expired at the end of 2004 and that any…
Polish MPC member says gov't missed reform chance
POLAND - A member of Poland's ten strong Monetary Policy Council, Boguslaw Grabowski, has said that Poland's leftist government missed a great opportunity to make deep fiscal and structural reforms in the first months after taking power last October.
BofE uses Marks and Spencer to raise money supply
UK - A shortage of quality £5 notes, due to banks' reluctance to stock the relatively low value notes in ATM cashpoint machines, has led the Bank of England to turn to post offices and Marks and Spencer to distribute used fivers.
Norway central bank leaves key rates unchanged
NORWAY - Norges Bank, the Norwegian central bank, Wednesday left its key deposit rate unchanged at 6.50%, in line with market expectations.
Norges Bank's press conference of 10 April
PRESS CONFERENCE - Monetary policy meeting of Norges Bank's Executive Board.
Norges Bank keeps interest rates unchanged
PRESS RELEASE - Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank's Executive Board meeting on 10 April. Norges Bank's key interest rate, the sight deposit rate, therefore remains at 6.50 per cent. The overnight lending rate also remains unchanged.
Japan cautioned by IMF on deflation fight
JAPAN - The International Monetary Fund Tuesday cautioned the Japanese Government not to slacken its efforts to combat deflation and structural problems, warning that additional steps were necessary to combat serious weaknesses in the world's second…
Supervision seminar to be hosted by c bank of Oman
OMAN - Hamoud bin Sanjoor al Zedjali, Executive President of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO), inaugurated at the CBO on Sunday a regional seminar on supervisory developments and practices in the banking sector.
Danish business expects Euro entry within 3 years
DENMARK - Danish managers expect Denmark to be join the euro by 2005 according to a poll by Green Analyseintitute carried out for the Danish business daily, Borsen.
Russian gov't seeks central bank draft law changes
RUSSIA - The Russian government will press for a revision of a number of amendments to the draft law on the Central Bank the State Duma (lower house) proposed Friday, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin has said.
Korean financial supervisory system to be assessed
SOUTH KOREA - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are expected to evaluate Korea's progress in establishing effective frameworks for supervising banks, insurers and securities firms during a 14-day assessment program on the country's…
Supervision expert to head new German regulator
GERMANY - German Finance Minister Hans Eichel will appoint banking supervision expert Jochen Sanio later this month to head Germany's new financial markets super-regulator, German media reported on Saturday.
Russian c banker in court for abuse of office
RUSSIA - The Zamoskvoretskiy intermunicipal court in Moscow begins proceedings in the criminal case involving Aleksandr Alekseyev, deputy head of the Russian Central Bank's main territorial directorate for Moscow, ITAR-TASS reports.
Steep rise in Argentine inflation expected
ARGENTINA - Prices will rise 45 percent this year in Argentina, Deputy Economy Minister Jorge Todesca said in an interview published in Pagina 12 newspaper on Sunday.
Iran judiciary says has no plans to try ministers
IRAN - Iran's judiciary denied on Sunday persistent media reports it planned to summon Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh and Central Bank Governor Mohsen Nourbakhsh to court to face corruption charges.
Bangladesh to close 500 bank branches
BANGLADESH - The central bank in Bangladesh has disclosed a plan to close down 500 branches of state owned commercial banks which were incurring losses over the last five years.
Central Bank changes worry forex market
UGANDA - The forex market has been unnerved by Bank of Uganda's decision to intervene discreetly rather than announce its specific actions in the market.
New BOJ policy members tread conventional lines
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan's newly appointed board members adopted a conventional line on monetary policy in their debut public appearance on Friday, in stark contrast to a maverick pro-easing member whom they replaced.
Fed's Broaddus - Fed committed to price stability
US - US Federal Reserve policymakers aren't "resting on our laurels" with regard to their primary goal of price stability, said Alfred Broaddus, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
Agency under attack over bad debts in Japan
JAPAN - Japan has been too slow to clear up the bad debt problem plaguing its banking sector, Masajuro Shiokawa, finance minister, has said.
Taiwan has third largest currency reserve in world
TAIWAN - Taiwan's currency reserves continue to accumulate and at the end of March they reached the historic level of $128.03 billion, the island's Central Bank announced on Friday.