Opinion
Venezuela plans using reserves to nationalize
This article from Bloomberg, published Thursday 11 January, looks at the recent decision to use Venezuela's international reserves to compensate owners of the telephone, oil and power companies under President Hugo Chavez's plans to nationalize.
Unpredictable Bank fails in mission to be dull
According to this article from Reuters, published Thursday 11 January, the Bank of England is failing miserably in its quest to be boring.
A reassuring Reserve
According to this article from the Financial Times, published Thursday 11 January, the Federal Reserve's decision to halt its series of interest rate rises in June last year now looks to have been correct.
Balcerowicz exits NBP, legacy at risk
According to this article from Bloomberg, published Wednesday 10 January, as Leszek Balcerowicz steps down as governor of the National Bank of Poland at midnight Wednesday, government attempts to reduce its independence may tarnish his legacy.
China can do better than swap dollars for oil
This article published by Bloomberg on Tuesday 9 January asks why China couldn't earn more by shifting some of its reserves to high-yield investments instead of keeping all its money invested in hard- currency debt issued by foreign governments.
Inflation targeting fails in first yr in Turkey
According to this article published by the Turkish Daily News on Saturday 6 January, Turkey's long-awaited "inflation targeting" has failed in its first year, and there is a big chance it will be unsuccessful in 2007.
Barney Frank says no to narrowing Fed's mandate
According to this article from John Berry at Bloomberg, published Friday 5 January, the Federal Reserve received a reminder this week about how politically sensitive it would be to adopt an inflation target.
Central banks tiptoeing away from the dollar
According to this article from The New York Times published Tuesday 2 January, nations with large holdings of dollars are becoming increasingly willing to dump them in favour of the euro.
WAMZ members commit to single currency
According to this article from This Day, published Tuesday 2 January, West African Monetary Zone member countries have expressed commitment to move forwards to a single monetary zone by 2009.
Central banks will give less of the same in 2007
According to this article published by Bloomberg on Tuesday 26 December, current forecasts suggest there might be fewer changes in key central bank interest rates in 2007.
A huge blow to Thailand's financial credibility
According to this article from The Nation, published Friday 22 December, the Bank of Thailand and Finance Ministry have shot themselves in the foot this week.
Is the RBI being irrationally exuberant?
According to this article from Rediff News, published Saturday 16 December, asks whether the Reserve Bank of India's recent decision to raise interest rates is an exercise in "rear window" economics.
Thailand discovers fury of investors scorned
In 24 hours the Bank of Thailand has raised the threat of more widespread use of monetary shock therapy in Asia, according to this article by Bloomberg published Wednesday 20 December.
Central banks and bubbles: Prevention or cure?
This article published Friday 15 December by Rediff News asks whether it's the Reserve Bank of India's job to go around pricking asset price bubbles.
Gulf monetary union is a cracking project?
According to this article published by Gulf News on Saturday 16 December, Oman's decision to pull out of the 2010 deadline indicates pressure on the proposed GCC single currency.
Trust me, Ben, if Mervyn can do it, so can you
This article published Friday 15 December by Bloomberg, compares the Bank of England's communication strategy with the Federal Reserve's. In less than a decade of independence the BoE has leapfrogged the Fed in terms of clarity, it says.
Bank of Japan's headwinds complicate recovery
According to this article from Bloomberg, published Tuesday 12 December, there is probably no one more disappointed than Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui about Japan's slow growth.
Promoting effective and accountable central banks
According to this article from the Bangkok Post, published Saturday 9 December, authorities must ensure consistency between the objectives of a central bank, its authority, degree of autonomy and accountability.
Side effects for ECB transparency
This article from the Financial Times, published Monday 11 December, says that a mixture of good luck and good judgment has made this a good year for the ECB.
Bernanke promotes Fed's profile, not his
According to this article published by Bloomberg on Monday 11 December, deflating the aura around his job may be Ben Bernanke's greatest triumph so far at the Federal Reserve.
Bernanke may clash with democratic Congress
According to the article 'Bernanke may clash with democratic Congress on wages, inflation' from Bloomberg, published Thursday 7 December, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke may be heading for a showdown with congressional Democrats over warnings from…
Illogical rules make Slovenians feel second-class
This article from the Financial Times, published Wednesday 6 December, asks whether Slovenia will be a second-class member of the eurozone with restrictions on the movement of labour from the small state.
'Irrational exuberance' may now be more rational
According to this article from Bloomberg, published Tuesday 5 December, ten years after Alan Greenspan's "irrational exuberance" statement, share prices are rising again, but this time it might be more rational.
Bernanke programmes dilute Greenspan's intuition
According to this article published by Bloomberg on Monday 4 December, a small team of Federal Reserve staff is testing a new "factor model'' programme that does the work of hundreds of economists.