Opinion
Two new faces on the Bank of England's MPC
FEATURE - In the auspicious oak panelled surroundings of Committee Room 16 at the Houses of Parliament the newest recruits to the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee were put through their paces by the Treasury Select Committee on Wednesday…
Stern sees signs business spending picking up
FEATURE - Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Gary Stern said on Thursday that business spending was starting to pick up and the U.S. economy is on track for moderate growth this year.
Britons hoard £1bn cash
FEATURE - British households are sitting on an estimated £945m cash pile, according to a new survey - and much of it can be found under sofa cushions.
Facing up to a post-Greenspan future
FEATURE - With every change of personnel at the Federal Reserve comes renewed speculation about what the institution will look like once Alan Greenspan, its revered chairman, finally departs.
Central bank they deserve
LETTER - Letter to the Financial Times published in the US edition 18 May. From Anthony Gould, New Jersey.
Dissenters are becoming dying breed at the Fed
FEATURE - It appears the imposing figure of Alan Greenspan at meetings of the US Federal Reserve is more than enough to persuade other members to keep their mouths shut. Report from Bloomberg news agency, New York.
Policy flaw at heart of the ECB
FEATURE - Keynes eroded the firmly-held idea that there were mysteries about central banking which justified secrecy about how it was meant to work. The process of erosion has taken a long time. This article was written by Professor Sir Alan Peacock in…
Brash makes his first political speech
FEATURE - Prospective National MP Don Brash has made his first political speech since standing down as Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor.
Strong appeal
FEATURE - An emotional day yesterday for Ian Plenderleith - by Bank of England standards at least. The outgoing head of financial market operations has always been taciturn when helping to unveil the inflation report, reports Thursday's Financial Times.
Chicago fed forum evolves into Basel 2 battle
FEATURE - The big question posed at this year's premier bank policy event was how to break regulators' tendency to exacerbate business cycles by backing off in boom times and cracking down when the economy slows.
Interview with Robert Mundell
FEATURE - One hundred days after the introduction of the euro Robert Pringle spoke with its self-styled "godfather" and Nobel Prize winner Robert Mundell in an exclusive interview for the latest edition of Central Banking journal.
Interview with Afghanistan's central bank governor
FEATURE - The recently appointed governor of Afghanistan's central bank, Anwar Ahady, has given an exclusive interview to Central Banking journal. In it he talks of his immediate priorities and hopes for the future of the central bank and Afghanistan's…
Charting an ongoing evolution of e-payments
FEATURE - In her 32 years with the Federal Reserve System, Cathy E. Minehan, the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, has heard plenty of talk about the paperless society.
Biography of newly-appointed Turkmen c bank chief
TURKMENISTAN - Ymamdurdy Muhammedowic Gandymow [Imamdurdy Muhammedovich, appointed head of the governing board of the Central Bank of Turkmenistan on 6 May 2002].
Five years of an independent Bank
FEATURE - It is, for the Bank of England, Independence Day. Just five years ago the Bank of England was given its freedom to set monetary policy.
UK at forefront of global card fraud prevention
FEATURE - Letter published in the Financial Times, 3 May, from Chris Pearson, Association for Payment Clearing Services, London.
No 'complacency' about debt levels
FEATURE - Letter published in the Financial Times, 3 May, from Dr Sushil Wadhwani, Monetary Policy Committee, Bank of England.
None so deaf - A central banker hit below the belt
FEATURE - When the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, is stuck in an awkward political corner she has taken to using a cheap rhetorical trick. She has borrowed it from Rob Muldoon. Unable to find anything substantive to say, she resorts to…
Olson isn't saying what banks want to hear
FEATURE - Bankers' hopes were high in December when Mark W. Olson was sworn in as a member of the Federal Reserve Board but the American Banker reports, 1 May, that Mr Olson has provided the banking industry with nothing but tough love.
Debating and preparing for the Payments Future
FEATURE - In a rare set of predictions on how the U.S. payments system's transaction mix will evolve, The Nilson Report in the American Banker says that in about 10 years debit cards will overtake credit cards, cash will remain king, and paper checks…
Interview with Russian central bank First Deputy
FEATURE - Interview with central bank first deputy chairman Oleg Vyugin with Vesti RTR News Program, 23 April.
ECB stands in contrast to Bank of England
FEATURE - Tuesday's London edition FT reports on the difficulties central banks can face in identifying and maintaining ideal inflation targets.
Gold's backers want to polish up its image
FEATURE - It isn't just the war against terrorism, or the growing violence in the Middle East. It isn't just increased Japanese demand or the Enron scandal's effect on the equity markets. Rather, gold's 10% rally this year, to a recent two-year high of…
Retreating to the sanctuary of gold
FEATURE - 'Gold is back,' declared a leading news agency this week in an analysis into why the yellow metal has pushed resolutely back above US$300 an ounce for the first time in two years, and why investor interest is at its highest in almost 20 years.