Opinion
Single currency a stable solution
ARTICLE - A common currency would bring more security to everyone in the Asia-Pacific region an article in the Australian Financial Review, 27 September claimed.
Commission to assess benefits for UK's euro entry
ARTICLE - Eleven of the world's leading economists will serve on a new commission to consider the consequences for Britain's economy of a decision to reject membership of the euro.
AGCC reaffirms switchover plan to single currency
ARTICLE - Governors of AGCC central banks have reaffirmed their commitment to introducing a common currency for the six-member Arab states, as Gulf economies are gradually embracing the idea of globalisation and financial sector liberalisation.
China's first gold exchange opens for trade
ARTICLE - The opening of China's first gold exchange on Wednesday in Shanghai signals the end of 50-plus years of government monopoly over the gold market.
CentralBankNet Monday Special Feature
SPECIAL FEATURE - In this weeks special feature CentralBankNet looks at the furore surrounding recent comments from the EC President. Fur has been flying in all directions after Romano Prodi fired a broadside at the EU's Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). …
Japan's economy is not that sick
LETTER - Letter published in the Financial Times, UK edition, 28 October, on Japan's economic problems and a potential solution.
House boom 'should not deter Bank' from rate cut
ARTICLE - The house price boom should no longer stand in the way of a cut in interest rates, according to Stephen Nickell, the longest-serving external member on the Bank of England's monetary policy committee.
Banks can park funds in infrastructure projects
ARTICLE - If the brief for a central bank is to guarantee liquidity in a milieu of low inflation and high forex reserves, the RBI can be said to have done more than its bit. On the supply side, RBI has been able to manage a dipping interest regime over…
Britain would be stupid to join the euro
LETTER - Letter published in the Financial Times, UK edition, 22 October, from Theresa Villiers MEP.
Talk of banks 'capturing' Basle II wide of mark
LETTER - Letter published in the Financial Times, UK edition, 19 October, from Simon Wills, Director, wholesale and regulation team, British Bankers' Association, London.
CentralBankNet Monday Special Feature
SPECIAL FEATURE - In this weeks special feature CentralBankNet looks at moves which could see a shake up in the way the ECB investigates fraud.
The inconsistency of the anti-euro lobby
ARTICLE - Consider these two assertions. We cannot possibly join the euro because sterling is grotesquely overvalued - locking in today's exchange rate would condemn the economy to stagnation. Giving up sterling would be madness - robbing Britain of a…
Complexity will not cut banks' risk
LETTER - Letter published in the Financial Times, UK edition, 21 October.
Estonia's case for euro membership
LETTER - Letter published in the Financial Times, UK edition, 21 October.
BOJ should create inflation to fight deflation
INTERVIEW - The best way to fight deflation is to create inflation, according to Kikuo Iwata, professor at Gakushuin University, who suggests the Bank of Japan set an inflation target of 1 to 3 percent for the next 12 months.
Japan already has its very own Greenspan
ARTICLE - "Japan needs an Alan Greenspan," some Japanese intellectuals recently demanded, and then went on to debate who the nation's own Greenspan might be. Given the country's dire economic straits, it is understandable that Japanese eyes are being…
Balcerowicz: Maastricht convergence opportunity
INTERVIEW - Summary of an interview with Leszek Balcerowicz, governor of the National Bank of Poland and chief of its Monetary Policy Council. The interview was published in a recent issue of Gazeta Wyborcza.
US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill - Time to go?
ARTICLE - Just what a fragile global economy doesn't need is a loose cannon as a US Treasury Secretary. Yet after a succession of gaffes that have sunk markets and offended presidents, Paul O'Neill remains unrepentant. Now is the time for him to resign…
Banks put themselves at risk in Basle
ARTICLE - The Basle committee on banking supervision is once again consulting banks over the impact of its draft new capital accord. Basle II will have an important bearing on bank lending within and between countries. Despite its good intentions, the…
Ignore the ghost of deflation past
ARTICLE - Financial market crystal ball gazers are focusing on the danger of a double-dip world recession.
Economists get the idea
ARTICLE - Two Nobel prizewinners have worked out why people do not always think rationally. John is interested in politics, he likes to participate in debates and is eager to appear in the media. Is John a salesman or is he a member of parliament?
Setting the Record Straight: By Kenneth Rogoff
LETTER - Letter from Kenneth Rogoff, Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department, International Monetary Fund. Submitted to Le Monde but not published, 4 October 2002.
A hard test for Britain's euro advocates
ARTICLE - The euro is not just about our economy but our destiny. We should only join the euro if the economic tests are met. That is clear. But if the tests are passed, we go for it." Thus did Tony Blair state his goal and the constraint upon it in his…