News
Fund manager knocks Bank's role in Rock saga
Philip Richards, the chief executive of RAB Capital, one of two hedge funds that are the biggest shareholders in Northern Rock, the beleaguered mortgage lender, attacked the Bank of England and its governor, Mervyn King, for its handling of the credit…
Kuwait SWF set to make move on Wall Street
The Kuwait Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund, may be about to invest billions in Merrill Lynch and Citigroup, two of the biggest casualties of the subprime crisis.
UK opposition party call for more power for Bank
David Cameron and George Osborne, two senior politicians from Britain's main opposition party, the Conservatives, are pressing for the Bank of England to take on more responsibility for financial regulation.
Top European politicians attack SWFs
Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president, on Saturday criticised the hypocrisy of sovereign wealth funds which are keen to buy foreign firms but disallow outside ownership in their own economies. His comments followed those of Charlie McCreevy, an EU…
Saudi must diversify investments, says top bank
The National Commercial Bank, Saudi Arabia's largest state bank, has called on the government to set up a sovereign wealth fund to cut the country's exposure to the greenback. The central bank should also look at de-pegging the riyal from the dollar.
Injections were vital: Deutsche Bank's Ackermann
Central banks' liquidity injections were crucial in averting the collapse of financial institutions, said Josef Ackermann, the chairman of Deutsche Bank.
Rock repays Bank debt with JPMorgan sale
Northern Rock, the beleaguered British mortgage lender, is to pay back some of its Bank of England debt through the sale of a mortgage portfolio worth £2.2 billion to JPMorgan, the- American investment bank.
Tanzania's Ballali fired over central bank fraud
Jakaya Kikwete, Tanzania's president, has sacked Daudi Ballali, the governor of the Bank of Tanzania, after external auditors found massive fraud at the central bank.
Turkish central bank set for Istanbul move
The Central Bank of Turkey will relocate to Istanbul in spite of objections from the institution's staff, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister said on Thursday.
Chile raises rates
The Central Bank of Chile voted on Thursday to hike rates by 25 basis points to 6.25%.
Peruvian rates hit 5.25% on inflation fears
The Central Bank of Peru's rate-setting board raised rates to 5.25%.
Rock action set for wider ambit
The scope of the regulatory response to Northern Rock will be much broader than originally anticipated, Alistair Darling, the British chancellor of the exchequer, said on Thursday.
Fed ready to act on worsening outlook: Bernanke
The Federal Reserve looks set to cut rates further after its chairman, Ben Bernanke, said central bank policy would look to counter the increasing risk of an economic slowdown.
UK rates held at 5.5%
The Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) on Thursday voted to keep the benchmark bank rate at 5.5%.
ECB holds rates, warns of inflation risk
The European Central Bank kept rates on hold at 4% on Thursday, with its president, Jean-Claude Trichet, reiterating that upside risks to price stability were "fully confirmed".
Czech governor misquoted on currency comments
Comments attributed to Zdenik Tuma, the governor of the Czech National Bank, which led to exchange rate fluctuations, have misquoted him, the Czech National Bank has said.
Bank of Canada plans to increase transparency
Canada's central bank will review whether to provide more information about its predictions for the economic outlook in a bid to improve transparency.
France renews onslaught on ECB policy
The French government has resumed its campaign calling for the European Central Bank (ECB) to cut rates.
Decision supports ECB on counterfeit check
The European Central Bank (ECB) won backing from a French court on Wednesday for the right to use a method to detect fake notes.
Fed's Poole says risk of recession unclear
William Poole, the president of the St Louis Federal Reserve, said on Wednesday that it was still too early to tell whether the housing sector's problems would push the US economy into recession.
New Korean government to leave central bank alone
South Korea's incoming government, elected in December, will respect the Bank of Korea's independence, an official said on Wednesday.
UK chancellor blames Rock run on regulator
Alistair Darling, the British chancellor of the exchequer, admitted on Tuesday that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) was culpable in the run on Northern Rock, but said he still planned to grant the banking regulator more power.
Israeli central bank set for greater independence
Israel's new central banking law will create a more independent institution, said Stanley Fischer, the governor of the Bank of Israel.
Fed's Plosser stays hawkish on rates
Charles Plosser, the president of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve and a voting member of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), hinted that he would back a rate hold when the committee meets later this month.