News
Slovakian cen bank asked to permit capital entry
SLOVAKIA - On 8 June a potential investor in Devin Banka, a.s. officially asked the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) to permit acquisition of higher than a 50-percent stake in its share capital.
ABC Islamic to launch sharia credit cards
BAHRAIN - Bahrain-based ABC Islamic Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arab Banking Corporation, is in the process of establishing a vehicle for the marketing of sharia-compliant credit cards.
Brazil c-bank may transfer liquidation admin
BRAZIL - The central bank of Brazil is involved in a debate on transferring the administration of financial institutions in liquidation from the Central Bank to the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC).
Egypt central bank dollar requests mount up
EGYPT - Egyptian banks have accumulated requests for hundreds of millions of dollars with the Central Bank which has not released any dollars into the market in over a month, banking sources and newspapers said on 7 June.
Greenspan may face rougher ride from critic
US - Following the decision by James Jeffords, the Vermont senator, to quit the Republican party and hand control of the Senate to the Democrats, Paul Sarbanes, one of Mr Greenspan's biggest critics, assumes the chairmanship of the important Senate…
Irish may reject Nice Treaty
IRELAND - Just over 30 percent of Irish voters took part in a referendum on the Nice Treaty on 7 June. RTE, the Irish state broadcaster, says early indications are that "there is a strong possibility the Nice Treaty may have been rejected by the voters."
Blair win good for monetary union - ECB's Domingo
SPAIN - European Central Bank board member Eugenio Domingo Solans said on 8 June that the victory of Prime Minister Tony Blair in Britain's general election was positive for European monetary union.
Bush wants bank executive on Federal Reserve Board
US - President Bush has decided to nominate Susan Bies, a top official with a Tennessee bank, as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, a senior White House official said on 8 June.
Thank you, academics, for making up my mind
UK - A letter signed by 15 leading UK academics supporting Britain's entry into the euro has provoked several passionate responses.
US economist offered key IMF role
US - A conservative economist aligned with the US administration has been offered the key job of first deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund.
Speech by Fed governor Laurence H Meyer
SPEECH - Federal Reserve governor Laurence H. Meyer has given a speech before the New York Association for Business Economics and The Downtown Economists, New York on 6 June.
Worries as German's remember 'wheelbarrow money'
GERMANY - A survey has revealed that more than half the population of Germany remain wary about the introduction of euro notes and coins fearing it will lead to price rises as retailers use the opportunity to round up prices following conversion into the…
ECB keeps interest rates on hold
EUROPE - The European Central Bank has maintained the key interest rate for the 12 countries within the eurozone at 4.5%.
IMF will grant loan to Yugoslavia in June - Dep PM
YUGOSLAVIA - The International Monetary Fund will grant its first stand-by loan to Yugoslavia this month even though the country's failure to adopt a war crimes law had been expected to block aid, Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus said on 7 June.
Polish c-bank to reveal wages of top officials
POLAND - The National Bank of Poland (NBP) will reveal the salaries of its top officials on 7 June after deputies questioned why the pay of public servants was secret, senior central bank official Pawel Narozny said.
Autonomous central bank defended by Fraga
BRAZIL - Central Bank president Arminio Fraga emphasized the importance of three items among those that depend on the regulation of article 192 of the Constitution of 1988, which deals with the national financial system.
Run a central bank with new Swiss computer game
SWITZERLAND - The Swiss National Bank has recently posted a new computer game onto its web site. For anyone aspiring to hold the reins of a nation's economy this provides a new and novel way to hone the skills for central banking and take charge of a…
Bahrain urges Islamic banks to merge
BAHRAIN - Bahrain, the Gulf's financial centre, on 5 June urged Islamic banks to consolidate or increase their capital to help them compete with conventional banks on financing major projects.
New Thai bank governor plans radical changes
THAILAND - Pridiyathorn Devakula, the new governor of the Bank of Thailand, who formally took charge of the bank on 5 June, plans radical changes to monetary policy in Thailand.
Bank of England maintains interest rates at 5.25%
UK - The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has left UK interest rates unchanged. The committee met on 6 June and the decision to leave rates unchanged was widely expected by economists.
Blair may be serious about single currency entry
UK - British prime minister Tony Blair is being seen as serious about campaigning for British participation in the single currency, the euro, after the UK general election which will be held tomorrow, 7 June.
Top economists say UK should join euro
UK - Fifteen of the country's most eminent economists have urged the UK Government to join the euro in a letter to the Financial Times in London.
Malta Central Bank re-appoints governor
MALTA - Michael Bonello has been re-appointed as governor of the central bank of Malta. He was appointed by the President on the advice of the prime minister for a second two-year term until October 2003. The announcement was made on 5 June.
Police warn euro notes may make crime easier
EUROPE - The high value of euro banknotes may make financial crime easier by enabling criminals who transfer cash across borders to cram more money into briefcases, European police fear.