News
Russian c.bank reserves set post-Soviet record
Russia's foreign currency and gold reserves have hit a new post-Soviet high of $29.5 billion after rising almost one billion dollars in the week to Feb. 2, the central bank said on Feb. 8, 2001. The bank said reserves had risen to the new level from $28…
BOJ Hayami-econ not at risk of deflationary spiral
Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami said Feb. 8 the central bank will stick to its current easy monetary policy to support the economy, but added that the bank would watch carefully for any sign of an economic slowdown. "The BOJ is willing to keep its…
Taiwan's forex reserves up to $108.05bn in Jan '01
Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves at the end of January 2001 totalled US$108.05 billion, the first rally in seven months, statistics released on Feb. 7 by the Central Bank of China (CBC) showed. The CBC statistics revealed that the amount of Taiwan's…
Bank of Korea reduces short-term rate to 5%
The Bank of Korea lowered on Feb. 8, 2001 its key short-term-rate target by a quarter point, signaling the need to bolster the sagging economy had overtaken previous concerns about inflationary pressures. The central bank's monetary policy committee cut…
Tanzania's Dec annual inflation drops to 5.5 pct
Tanzania's overall annual inflation rate eased to 5.5 percent in the year to December 2000 from 5.7 percent in November, helped by a marginal drop in food prices, the central bank said on Feb 8, 2001.Food prices account for at least 70 percent of the…
IMF reviews Pakistan performance for standby loan
Pakistan began talks with an International Monetary Fund mission on Feb. 8, 2001 keen to convince it that a revenue shortfall should not prevent payment of a second tranche of a standby loan, officials and analysts said. Analysts said the mission, led by…
CNB Bank Board leaves interest rates unchanged
The Czech National Bank (CNB) Board made no monetary decisions at its session on Feb. 8, 2001, Pavel Zubek of the CNB's PR department told reporters after the session. The Bank Board left rates unchanged at the last monetary session held two weeks ago as…
Sweden should raise rates soon, OECD says
The OECD on Feb 8, 2001 called on Sweden's central bank, which has signalled it plans to keep interest rates on hold for now, to tighten monetary policy soon. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a country report the Riksbank…
Hungary's Suranyi says pay cuts against the law
A decision by then-finance minister Zsigmond Jarai to slash the bonuses of the leaders of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) is a signal that Jarai's appointment as MNB governor will reduce the central bank's independence, outgoing governor Gyorgy…
Bank of Korea says fake note cases doubled in 2000
Due to the fast spread of computer scanners and colour printers, the number of note forgery cases more than doubled in 2000, the Bank of Korea said on Feb 8, 2001.The number of note counterfeiting cases jumped to 160 in 2000 from 68 cases in 1999, the…
Buenaventura appointment illegal-BSP says otherwis
Malacanang has been receiving reports Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Rafael Buenaventura may have been illegally appointed by former president Joseph Estrada under the Central Bank Act, presidential spokesman Renato Corona said in a radio…
Tunisia GDP records 5 per cent growth in 2000
The Tunisian Central Bank governor, Mohamed Daoues, this morning presented to President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali the bank's year 2000 performance. The president was satisfied with the good results achieved by the Tunisian economy in 2000, as the overall…
Japan govt keeps heat on BOJ as economy struggles
Members of a government council pressed the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to boost the fragile economy through a monetary easing, minutes of an economic council meeting showed on Feb 7, 2001.The minutes were released two days ahead of a BOJ Policy Board meeting at…
ECB's Trichet - European growth to continue strong
European Central Bank council member and Bank of France governor Jean-Claude Trichet said on Feb. 7, 2000 growth in Europe will continue "at a reasonable, strong pace." There were, however, downside risks to real gross domestic product growth, he told a…
Aussie stays lumped with euro despite decisive RBA
Proactive policy action by the Reserve Bank failed to give the Australian dollar much of a lift on Feb. 7, 2001 with the unit undermined against the U.S. dollar by weakness in the euro and flows towards the yen. The half point rate cut by the RBA had…
Calls to unseat BSP chief Buenaventura grow louder
Calls for Bangko Sentral Gov. Rafael B. Buenaventura to resign grew louder even as the Macapagal-Arroyo administration vowed its support for measures to grant more powers to the central monetary authority. According to "BusinessWorld" magazine, a group…
Singapore banks eye new cap rules
Singapore banks, among the healthiest in Asia, should fare well against their regional competitors under a plan to strengthen international capital adequacy guidelines, the Monetary Authority of Singapore says. The proposal, unveiled recently by a Bank…
Treasury's O'Neill courts Wall Street on tax cuts
U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill courted Wall Street support on Feb 7, 2001 for President George W. Bush's $1.6 trillion tax cut plan, saying huge budget surpluses left ample room to give taxpayers a break. Bush is due to propose the cuts on Feb. 8…
Estonia c.bank Jan reserves down amid rules change
Estonia's central bank said on Feb. 7 its gold and foreign currency reserves dropped 14.4 percent in January 2001 from December 2000 as new regulations easing the use of commercial banks' mandatory reserves went into effect. The central bank said in a…
Zimbabwe banks experience massive capital flight
Zimbabwe's banks, which for years have been the investor's first choice as they offered annual gains of up to 65 percent in interest, are now facing a massive capital flight to the equity market after cheaper funds made available by the Central Bank…
Czechs to mull foreign bond issue - Deputy FinMin
The Czech central bank (CNB) board should discuss at the beginning of March 2001 the possibility of tapping foreign markets for a bond issue, Deputy Finance Minister Eduard Janota said on Feb 7."We are analysing the current situation on the bond market…
IMF mission to meet Brazilian ministers
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission that recently arrived in Brazil will meet the Brazilian Minister of Finance Pedro Malan. The IMF mission, which will stay in Brazil until Feb. 16, 2001 has planned a meeting on Feb. 14 with Martus Tavares, the…
RBI eases bank export credit rules post-quake
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed banks to extend export loan maturities and waive some interest charges to exporters affected by last month's [January 2001] earthquake in the western India state of Gujarat. In a directive issued on Feb. 6 to…