News
Kidnapped central bank president is released
GUATEMALA - Lizardo Sosa, head of the Guatemalan Central Bank, was released Thursday after family members paid a "minimal" ransom to the kidnappers who grabbed him three days ago, according to the latest official account.
German minister sees early UK use of euro
GERMANY - Hans Eichel, Germany's finance minister, yesterday predicted that Britain would join the euro "in the not too distant future", in comments likely to renew debate on the single currency.
Argentine deal set to speed budget approval
ARGENTINA - Argentina's Congress was finally due to start discussing this year's budget yesterday, after the government reached a funding agreement with provincial governors on Wednesday night. That deal should mean rapid approval of the budget and could…
Koizumi criticised for slow pace of reform
JAPAN - A key adviser to Japan's Junichiro Koizumi yesterday criticised the prime minister for lacking concrete plans for structural reform and failing to implement the pledges he made on coming to office in April.
Central Bank of Guatemala Governor Kidnapped
GUATEMALA - It has been confirmed that the President of the central bank of Guatemala Lizardo Sosa was kidnapped while out for his regular morning jog close to his home.
Fed's Ferguson sees signs of U.S. recovery
US - Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson said on Wednesday that signs of a U.S. economic recovery were increasing, but that a revival in business investment held the key to the contours of the rebound.
Final day for euro changeover
EUROPE - Two months after it was introduced as a cash currency on 1 January 2002, the euro will finally become the sole legal tender in the 12 countries in the eurozone.
Channel Islands agree tax haven deal
UK - Guernsey and Jersey in the Channel Islands have signed up to an international programme to block tax evasion.
Federal Reserve Board Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - The Federal Reserve Board announced on Wednesday that the Consumer Advisory Council will hold its next meeting on Thursday, March 14. The meeting will take place in Dining Room E, Terrace level, in the Board's Martin Building. The session…
Argentina debates crisis budget
ARGENTINA - Argentine leaders are on Thursday expected to debate an austerity budget aimed at finding a way out of the country's economic crisis.
Pakistan's central bank governor doing 'fine'
PAKISTAN - Following on from a heart attack scare recently we learn that Dr Ishrat Husain is now doing fine.
South African gold output falls sharply
SOUTH AFRICA - South African production of gold slipped by more than 8% in 2001, the Chamber of Mines of South Africa has reported.
Welteke: Past rate cuts will still show effect
GERMANY - Current price developments in the euro zone are "positive", but past interest rate cuts have yet to fully show their effect, Deutsche Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke said Wednesday.
RBI panel moots pool of bank directors
INDIA - The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) consultative group of directors of banks and financial institutions has recommended creating a pool of independent directors - approved by the RBI - to join various bank boards.
Amendment of BI law to be completed soon
INDONESIA - The House of Representatives and government officials are expected to finish debate over the amendment of the central bank law within two weeks.
Polish central bank - Support early euro entry
POLAND - The European Union should encourage new members of the bloc to adopt the euro as their national currency as early as possible, the president of the Polish central bank said Monday.
Auditing guide on banks
IRELAND - Auditors of banks have been issued with guidance notes to help them decide when they should report matters of concern to the Central Bank. Similar practice notes from the Auditing Practices Board will be issued for the auditing of insurers and…
Eurogroup's Rato supports Trichet as ECB head
FRANCE - Rodrigo Rato, chairman of the group of EU finance ministers, on Thursday said the next president of the European Central Bank should be French and signalled his support to put Bank of France Governor Jean-Claude Trichet in the top job.
Hungarian ctrl bk to coordinate data after glitch
HUNGARY - The National Bank of Hungary and the Central Statistics Office, or KSH, Wednesday signed a pact to harmonize data collection, two days after the central bank revised and more than doubled the 2001 current account deficit.
Interview with Anne Krueger of the IMF
INTERVIEW - Anne Krueger, First Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, Le Monde Economie, 18 February.
Aide warns over euro politics
UK - One of Chancellor Gordon Brown's closest aides has warned against allowing political pressures to influence the government's approach to the euro.
German recession confirmed
GERMANY - The German economy is officially in recession, according to official figures which have confirmed two successive quarters of contraction.
Nikkei soars ahead of deflation plan
JAPAN - Japan's top economic policy makers are meeting to finalise moves to curb spiralling deflation and stabilise the stock market.
ECB Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Monetary developments in the euro area: January 2002, 27 February 2002.