Europe
Comment: Papademos on asset bubbles
In a speech in Madrid last week, the ECB vice-president, Lucas Papademos, drew a line of distinction between the ECB's policy on asset prices and that of the US Fed. In doing so he sought to communicate that the Issing legacy is firmly in tact.
ECB publishes SIPS report
On 31 May 2006, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) approved the "Business continuity oversight expectations for systemically important payment systems (SIPS)" report (published Friday 9 June).
Paper on monetary policy and asset prices
The University of Warwick Research Paper "Monetary policy and asset prices : What role for central banks in new EU member states?" deals with the relationship between monetary policy and asset prices.
Comment: Sharing the cost of banking crises
The need for an ex-ante commitment to sharing the cost of cross-border banking crises in Europe is suggested in a speech by Eva Srejber and a paper by Charles Goodhart and Dirk Schoenmaker. But is it feasible?
Buba's Weber on European financial integration
In the speech 'European financial integration and (its implications for) monetary policy' given on 23 May Axel Weber of the Deutsche Bundesbank said financial integration is a mostly beneficial process which is driven by market forces as well as…
Central bankers to hold panel meeting
Top central bankers from Europe, Japan and the United States will participate in a panel meeting in Washington on Monday 5 June.
IMF paper on the European single financial market
The IMF Working Paper "The lender of last resort in the European single financial market" published May 2006 examines challenges in effectively implementing the lender-of-last-resort function in the EU single financial market.
Enforcement and the stability and growth pact
The IMF Working Paper "Enforcement and the stability and growth pact: How fiscal policy did and did not change under Europe's fiscal framework" published May 2006, says that the Stability and Growth Pact has been a success in numerous EU countries,…
Trichet on why Europe needs structural reforms
In the speech 'Why Europe needs structural reforms' given on 24 April Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said the eurozone economy could grow nearly a percentage point faster each year if governments make markets more flexible.
Does the euro zone really need political union?
Seven years after the launch of the euro, this article published on Friday 21 April asks how much political union is needed to make monetary union work more effectively?
Tumpel-Gugerell on ECB, Italy & Eastern Europe
In the speech 'The European Central Bank, Italy and the integration of Eastern Europe' given on 31 March Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell of the ECB said the ECB's track record of containing inflation means that it does not have to hike interest rates…
Ireland's Hurley on monetary policy
In the speech 'Monetary policy and prospects for the European economy' given on 9 March (published 16 March) John Hurley of the Central Bank & Financial Services Authority of Ireland said the European Central Bank is ready to act as needed to keep down…
ECB's Bini Smaghi on financial market supervision
In the speech 'Independence and accountability of supervision in the european financial market' given on 9 March Lorenzo Bini Smaghi of the ECB said the increasing European financial integration poses difficult challenges for the institutional…
Rato sees world growth beating IMF forecast
According to the International Monetary Fund's managing director, world economic growth this year will exceed the current forecast of 4.3 percent thanks to a recovery in Europe and Japan.
ECB publication of an enhanced 'Blue Book'
The European Central Bank on Monday 6 March published a statistical addendum to the publication "Payment and securities settlement systems in the European Union and in the acceding countries" (known as the "Blue Book") incorporating 2004 data.
HKMA's Yam on the euro
In the speech 'The euro: Lessons for European and Asian financial markets' given on 24 February Joseph Yam of the HKMA said the integration of financial markets in the Asia-Pacific region can be accelerated if financial and monetary authorities in the…
Macroeconomic challenges with EU accession
The IMF Working Paper "Macroeconomic challenges with EU accession in Southeastern Europe: An overview" published February 2006 reviews key macroeconomic challenges with EU accession in Southeastern Europe (SEE).
OECD's Cotis worried over Europe's growth prospect
OECD Chief Economist Jean-Philippe Cotis said on Tuesday 21 February that European economic growth has been slowed by poor fiscal policies and weak channels of transmission for monetary policy.
ECB's Wellink sees 2% eurozone growth
Dutch central bank governor Nout Wellink told an audience in Toronto Monday that he was "mildly optimistic" for Europe's future and saw growth in the euro area in the next two years of about 2 per cent.
Towards a Single Euro Payments Area - 4th report
In its fourth progress report on the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), published Friday, the Governing Council of the ECB defined the final SEPA objectives.
Comment: BIS looks east
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) on Monday announced its intention to "deepen its relationship" with Asian central banks. The most interesting and challenging aspect of the initiative is the proposed "extension of banking services in the…
Report says CB gold sales won't meet quota
HSBC analyst Alan Williamson told Dow Jones on Friday 27 January that European central banks are highly unlikely to sell the total 2,500 tons of gold allowed under the current agreement.
Third Euro-Mediterranean central bank seminar
The third Euro-Mediterranean seminar, which brings together Eurosystem and non-euro area Mediterranean central banks, was jointly organised by the Bank of Greece and the European Central Bank and held in Nafplion on 25 January.
Europe's central bank must show some backbone
According to this article published on Monday 9 January , political pressure could be responsible for the European Central Bank's 'timid' interest rate move last month.