European Central Bank (ECB)
ECB's French connection is still fuzzy
FEATURE - The next president of the European Central Bank will be a Frenchman, but the question is: Which one?, asks the Wall Street Journal, 3 April.
Speech by Otmar Issing of the ECB, 26 Mar
SPEECH - Issing said in a speech titled 'The role of monetary policy in managing economic risks' that he did not currently see any threats to the inflation outlook in the euro zone, but said on balance the risks are to the upside.
Speech by Sirkka Hamalainen of the ECB, 20 Mar
SPEECH - European Central Bank executive board member Hamalainen said on Wednesday she was disappointed by euro zone financial market integration and urged private sector firms to work together to improve it.
Speech by Christian Noyer of the ECB, 22 Mar
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'France, Europe, the euro and the ECB' Noyer said that fiscal policy changes in the euro zone would not automatically result in a shift in the ECB's monetary policy.
ECB's Quaden - "More and more signs" worst over
BELGIUM - European Central Bank Governing Council member Guy Quaden welcomed Tuesday the latest reading in German business sentiment, calling it another sign that the euro-zone economy has turned the corner.
Speech by Sirkka Hamalainen of the ECB, 26 Mar
SPEECH - Hamalainen gave a speech on Tuesday titled 'Implementing monetary policy in the euro area'. In the speech she said that short term deviations in the euro zone inflation rate from the bank's two percent inflation ceiling were perfectly acceptable.
ECB gold reserves - EUR55M
GERMANY - The Eurosystem's net reserves in gold and gold receivables declined EUR55 million to EUR126.8 billion in the week ended 22 March, the European Central Bank said Tuesday.
Another month of agony for ECB hopeful Trichet
FRANCE - Bank of France chief Jean-Claude Trichet will have to wait until the end of April to know whether French state prosecutors want him tried over a bank scandal that has hurt his hopes of becoming European Central Bank president reports Reuters.
Transparency doesn't mean full disclosure
GERMANY - Central bank transparency doesn't mean communicating the exact timing and scope of changes in monetary policy to markets, according to European Central Bank executive board member Sirkka Haemaelaeinen.
Testimony of Otmar Issing of the ECB, 20 Mar
TESTIMONY - Issing said in his testimony to the European Parliament that the euro area economy will speed up in the course of the year but inflation would remain subdued. "Recent data point to a recovery starting moderately in early 2002 and accelerating…
Annual accounts of the ECB
ANNUAL ACCOUNTS - Annual accounts of the ECB for the year ending 31 December 2001 released 21 March 2002 (to be published in the ECB's Annual Report 2001 on 23 April 2002).
ECB's Issing says high Greek inflation "worrying"
GREECE - Greece's higher than eurozone average inflation is a "worrying development" that poses problems to Greek competitiveness, European Central Bank Chief Economist Otmar Issing said on Sunday.
ECB urges independence of central banks
UK - For central and eastern European countries keen to enter the eurozone, the European Central Bank has a message: be patient, continue to pursue economic reforms and, at all costs, do not undermine the independence of your central banks.
Speech by T Padoa-Schioppa of the ECB, 21 Mar
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Accession Countries on the Way to the Euro: A Central Banker's View' Padoa-Schioppa said a carefully chosen timeframe for euro adoption by new members after they join the EU would ensure that fighting inflation would not…
ECB net profit declines by 8.5% partly on US rates
GERMANY - The European Central Bank Thursday reported a net profit of 1.82 billion euros in 2001, down 8.5% from 1.99 billion euros the preceding year.
Spain's Rato sees two candidates to replace Noyer
SPAIN - Spanish Economy Minister Rodrigo Rato said on Thursday that there were only two candidates to replace European Central Bank vice-president Christian Noyer, and it seemed unlikely more would come forward.
European Parliament Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - ECB confident on recovery and on inflation soon falling below 2%, 20 March.
Issing, Euro 12 govts must speed up reform in 2002
BELGIUM - Euro-zone governments should take advantage of this year's economic recovery and speed up structural reforms shelved last year owing to the downturn, European Central Bank chief economist and executive board member Otmar Issing said Tuesday.
ECB job decision seen moving into April
SPAIN - The next vice president of the European Central Bank is likely to be picked in mid-April with still only two candidates in the race at the end of the first day of a European Union summit in Barcelona.
Greek has "good chance" of landing ECB job
SPAIN - Greece's candidate for the vice presidency of the European Central Bank appears to be gaining support, although European Union finance ministers still have about a month to make a final pick.
Speech by Wim Duisenberg, ECB President, 15 Mar
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'The introduction of the euro: a (critical) retrospect and a preview' Duisenberg said "we consider the current level of the key ECB interest rates appropriate to maintaining price stability over the medium term".
ECB start raising rates by autumn - Kiel institute
GERMANY - The Kiel Institute for the World Economy IfW, one of Germany's six leading economic research institutes, said on Thursday it expected the European Central Bank to start raising rates in autumn 2002 in response to strengthening euro zone…
Some E Europe states may need longer in ERM2-Noyer
UK - European Central Bank vice-president Christian Noyer reiterated on Friday it could be desirable for some eastern European accession states to remain in the European exchange rate mechanism (ERM-II) for longer than the minimum requirement of two…
Duisenberg sees inflation below 2 pct in May
NETHERLANDS - European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg said on Friday he expected euro zone inflation to fall below its two percent tolerance ceiling in May 2002.