News
Talks on Russian bank reforms
RUSSIA - Top national and international policymakers are set to meet at Russia's central bank today, Tuesday 11 Sep, to discuss options for restructuring the country's banks.
Kohler says IMF may look again at 'Tobin tax'
GERMANY - Horst Kohler, the International Monetary Fund's managing director, on Monday acknowledged recent calls by political leaders in Germany and France for more detailed discussions on how better to control international capital markets.
Pakistan to issue Islamic bank licences
PAKISTAN - Pakistan's military government is to issue licences for new Islamic banks, the first time that new banking licences would be issued in a decade, according to Shaukat Aziz, finance minister.
Philippines faces sanctions on money laundering
PHILIPPINES - The Philippines could face sanctions from a range of industrialised countries from the end of September thanks to its failure to tackle money laundering, according to an international agency which monitors the issue.
US jobless rate jumps to 4.9%
US - The US unemployment rate rose sharply to 4.9% in August, official data has showed.
Economist group sees slower growth ahead this year
US - The National Association for Business Economics has revised down its estimates of U.S. growth for both this year and next.
Japan heads towards recession
JAPAN - Japan's battered economy has tipped yet closer to recession, as new figures show it contracted 0.8% in the second quarter of the year.
Global econ slowdown at or near bottom
SWITZERLAND - While the global economy remains in a slump, conditions at least appear to have stabilized, suggesting that the slowdown is at or near its turning point, Bank of England Governor Eddie George said Monday 10 Sep after a regular meeting of…
Turkish c bank to publish inflation report in Oct
TURKEY - Turkey's central bank plans to announce next month future inflation estimates and details of the monetary policy that will back a plan to cut stubbornly high inflation, a senior central banker said on Monday 10 Sep.
Economic stabilisation hq proposed in Japan
JAPAN - A Japanese think tank on Monday 10 Sep called for creating an economic stabilisation headquarters to work out key strategies for the slumping Japanese economy.
Belarusian c bank's reserves 280m dollars, 10 tons
BELARUS - The gold and hard currency reserves of the National Bank of Belarus currently total 10,016 kg of gold and 280m dollars.
Is Chavez talking Venezuela into currency crisis?
VENEZUELA - Venezuela is enjoying high oil prices and one of Latin America's healthiest growth rates, but outspoken President Hugo Chavez may be literally talking his country into a currency crisis, economists said on Friday 7 Sep.
Welteke: Signs pointing to recovery in 2nd half
IRELAND - Deutsche Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke Tuesday 4 Sep expressed hopes that Germany's economic growth rate will begin to pick up later this year.
Three new directors sworn in for Peru central bank
PERU - Three persons nominated by President Alejandro Toledo officially became directors of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru Wednesday 5 Sep.
Trichet unveils Bank of France euro info campaign
FRANCE - Bank of France Governor Jean-Claude Trichet Wednesday 5 Sep unveiled the French leg of a euro-zone-wide campaign to publicise the switchover to euro notes and coins at the beginning of 2002.
German CDG to train Albania's bank managers
ALBANIA - German foundation Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft will train the managers of the Albanian Savings Bank and the National Commercial Bank under a project of the Stability Pact.
E-Signature law may see PSL reap rewards
POLAND - The Sejm has a new hot topic. The Electronic Signature Act was supposed to unleash the market for advanced online services, but may now become the source of large profits for a company said to have ties with the Peasants' Party (PSL).
Argentines flow cash back into banking system
ARGENTINA - Argentine depositors are returning money to the financial system, reassured by the recent decision of the International Monetary Fund to lend the country a further US$8-billion.
Latvia's central bank governor to resign
LATVIA - Einars Repse, the popular president of the Latvian central bank, said yesterday, Thursday 6 Sep, he intended to step down in order to lead a new political party, following accusations from the ruling party of a conflict of interest.
UK interest rates kept on hold
UK - The Bank of England has left interest rates unchanged at 5% today, Thursday 6 Sep.
Fed's Ferguson - must monitor changes in payments
US - Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson said on Tuesday 4 Sep the continued changes in the U.S. and world financial systems as well as the payment systems should continue to receive scrutiny from officials even though no problems are evident as…
Likelihood of recession very low - Fed's McDonough
UK - Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William McDonough said on Thursday 6 Sep that the U.S. was unlikely to go into recession. "The likelihood of recession is very low," McDonough said.
No major CPI impact from Euro intro
GERMANY - Germany's Federal Statistics Office said 5 September that the first results of a survey of retail prices don't so far show any significant impact on consumer prices from the euro's introduction.
Shiokawa to discuss forex with O'Neill
JAPAN - Although the government wants a weaker yen to accompany the Bank of Japan's easy monetary stance, it is hard to intentionally drive currency rates, Japanese Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said today, 5 September.