News
Sri Lanka halts slide as central bank steps in
SRI LANKA - Sri Lanka's rupee ended a two-day plunge of more than three percent on May 3, firming at the close after the central bank sold dollars in the market for the second successive day.
Supereconomies face clashes
EUROPE - Central bank politics is assuming an intriguing role in attempted reversal of the slowdown of the US economy and spreading effects on other parts of the world.
Ex-BOJ Fukui warns policy shift has dangers
TOKYO - The Bank of Japan's (BOJ) recent adoption of a radically different easy money policy risks driving the yen to excessively low levels and, worse, could set a profligate government on the path to fiscal bankruptcy, a former deputy governor of the…
G7 accept Japanese financial reform will happen
JAPAN - The chief of Japan's financial watchdog said on May 1 members of the Group of Seven (G7) nations at a weekend meeting in Washington had expressed understanding of the government's efforts to undertake structural reform.
Rate cut doubt after new data published
UK - Buoyant UK consumer data released on May 2 has added to the interest rate dilemma faced by the Bank of England.
London set for May-day monopoly mayhem
LONDON - Anti-capitalist demonstrators are preparing to target offices of the IMF and World Bank in London in riots planned for Tuesday, May 1.
Parliament committee grills new policy adviser
LONDON - Kate Barker, due to join the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in June, testified before parliament's Treasury Select Committee on May 1.
BoE's George 'Surprised' By Weak 1Q GDP Data
UK - Bank of England Governor Eddie George said Tuesday that he was caught off guard by the weakness of U.K. output during the first quarter of this year.
Bank of Japan Mar 19 meeting minutes
TOKYO - Key points from minutes issued by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) on May 1 from the meeting of its Policy Board on Mar 19.
Former BI governor interviewed over graft case
According to a report in the Jakata Post, former Bank Indonesia (BI) governor Adrianus Mooy was interviewed by the Indonesian Attorney General on Monday 1 May over a graft case involving state-owned investment company PT Bahana Pembinaan Usaha Indonesia …
IMF Establish Joint Regional Training Centre
EUROPE - The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Horst Kohler, and the Minister of Finance for Brazil, Pedro Sampaio Malan, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a Joint Regional Training Center for Latin America (BTC)…
Call for Italian monitoring
ITALY - The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has called for a joint watchdog to monitor Italy's banking and insurance sectors.
Argentine plan approved by finance leaders
ARGENTINA - Argentina's Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo was in Washington over the weekend of 28-29 Apr to attend the Spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. He outlined what he proposes to do to put Argentina back on track to…
IMF reinvents itself - latest
At their Spring annual meetings in Washington DC, the IMF has released a paper "The IMF in the Process of Change" on the Fund's progress in reinventing itself as a financial sector crisis manager.
RBA will make rates decision at meeting on 1 May
AUSTALIA - The Reserve Bank of Australia board meets tomorrow, 1 May, to consider whether the future risks to the Australian economy warrant further interest rate reductions. And according to market economists the decision will be a finely balanced one.
Russia and Denmark plan economic cooperation
DENMARK - A two-day conference devoted to problems of economic cooperation between Denmark and Russia is opening in Copenhagen today, 1 May.
Germany cuts growth forecast
GERMANY - The German government has joined its European neighbours by slashing its growth forecasts. Economic expansion in Europe's largest economy is expected to be only 2% in 2001, 0.75% less than previously forecast.
UK growth hit by global slowdown
UK - Fears of a sharp slowdown in the British economy have grown after official figures showed output was weaker than expected in the first three months of the year.
US is wrong to browbeat the ECB into cutting rates
GERMANY - America is wrong to try to browbeat the European Central Bank into cutting interest rates "I hear but I do not listen," remains the response of Wim Duisenberg, president of the European Central Bank, to the clamour for lower interest rates.
US economy stronger than expected
UNITED STATES - The US economy has grown by 2% during the first three months of 2001 - twice as fast as analysts had predicted.
Turkish Cypriot central bank governor resigns
CYPRUS - Mehmet Bayram, minister of economy and finance of [self-declared] the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, has announced that Central Bank Governor Demirhan Sayiner resigned from office.
Hayami to resign (maybe)
BoJ governor, Masaru Hayami, arriving at the weekend's G7 meeting in Washinton denies reports that he is about to quit.
China CBank fights non-performing loans
The People's Bank of China has announced its intention to toughen standards for commercial banks Non-performing loans.
Thai Central Bank Cuts Forecast As Exports weaken
THAILAND - The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has slashed down this year's economic growth projections to 2.5-4 percent, from 3-4.5 percent, due to the weakening exports in light of the U.S. and Japanese slowdown, according to local T.V. news reports on Apr 27.