Europe
Trichet at the Euro-Mediterranean Seminar
In a speech to the Euro-Mediterranean Seminar of Eurosystem and Mediterranean country national banks given on 15 January, Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said the seminar should be a platform for an exchange of views between central banks of the…
Le Pan on the future of regulatory capital
In a speech on "The future of regulatory capital: targeting a consistent regulatory approach on a regional and functional basis" Nicholas Le Pan, Superintendent of the OSFII, talks about promoting consistency with the new Basel Capital Accord.
EU to take court action over budget rules
The European Union's head office decided on Tuesday 13 January to take finance ministers to court for letting Germany and France off the hook for violating euro budget rules. An EU spokesman said the move to vary the rules "was not the appropriate…
Legal action likely over budget rules fudge
The European Commission is expected to back legal action on Tuesday 13 January against last November's decision by eurozone finance ministers to suspend the single currency's budget rules in the case of France and Germany.
ECB press conference with questions and answers
Speaking on Thursday 8 January, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said that available indicators point to an ongoing economic recovery in the euro area and that the assessment has not fundamentally changed but he said the ECB did not like excess…
Noyer-ECB policy offers best conditions for growth
Christian Noyer, governor of the Bank of France, said on Friday 9 January that the ECB would not give in to external pressure on its strategy and that current monetary conditions in the eurozone offered the best possibilities for growth.
ECB maintains eurozone rates at 2%
The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday 8 January as widely expected, defying calls that cheaper money is needed to prevent a strong euro from hurting economic recovery.
Court battle may loom over EU Pact
EU finance ministers reportedly acted illegally when they suspended EU budget rules to spare France and Germany disciplinary action over their excessive deficits.
Eurozone inflation rate falls in December
The annual inflation rate for the 12-nation eurozone fell to 2.1 per cent in December from 2.2 per cent the previous month, according to an initial estimate by Eurostat data agency released on Monday 5 January.
Predicting euro-area recessions
This ECB working paper looks at the informational content of the slope of theyield curve as a predictor of recessions in the euro area.
Duisenberg at a discount
Despite a splendid send-off in October, including a blizzard of awards from European countries, the image of Wim Duisenberg, the former president of the ECB, is starting to fade, CentralBankNet can exclusively reveal.
ECB release forex rules for acceding central banks
The European Central Bank has released a paper which spells out how accession country central banks must manage their currencies in the run up to joining the euro.
ECB's Wellink says euro surge a risk to recovery
ECB Governing Council Member Nout Wellink said in an interview that the appreciating euro was "one of the risk factors" for the European economy and the region's growth prospects could be hindered if the euro appreciated rapidly.
Euro-zone inflation up to 2.2 per cent
Euro-zone inflation edged up to 2.2 percent in November with higher food and tobacco prices blamed for the rise. The results were in line with expectations and Eurostat's preliminary estimate.
ECB official unconcerned with euro's strength
Otmar Issing, chief economist of the European Central Bank, said in an interview that the current level of the euro "corresponds to its long-term average". "It is essentially back where it started," he said.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, December 2003
The European Central Bank published its December 2003 Monthly Bulletin on 11 December. The ECB maintained its forecast for 2003 inflation at 2.1pc, but lowered its forecast for 2005 inflation to 1.6pc from 1.7pc. But it repeated that official interest…
ECB's Solans on importance of MFI interest rates
In a speechon 'The importance of MFI interest rates for the Eurosystem and the general public' given on 10 December, Eugenio Domingo Solans of the ECB said the aim of the new set of MFI interest rate statistics is to provide a comprehensive, detailed and…
Growth down inflation up, predicts ECB
The European Central Bank's December monthly report released on Thursday 11 December increased its inflation forecasts for 2004 to a range of between 1.3 - 2.3 per cent for the euro area, reports EUpolitix, a figure revised significantly upwards from the…
ECB no comment on FX intervention rumours
Market rumours that the ECB intervened in the foreign exchange markets were met with a 'no comment' answer on Wednesday 10 December, according to Reuters.
ECB's Issing: Rate impact from deficits action
European Central Bank Chief economist Otmar Issing has said in a newspaper article that the decision to effectively suspend the stability and growth pact carries serious risks for the eurozone, according to Reuters.
The future of Europe's payments: Target 2
The Eurosystem's payment system - Target - is set for a restructuring which will place emphasis on consolidation and cost effectiveness of the existing linked national payment systems. In this brochure the ECB outlines what Target 2 will require of…
ECB press conference with questions and answers
At the ECB's post meeting press conference on Thursday 4 December, Jean-Claude Trichet said the overall fiscal framework of the Stability and Growth Pact remains of central importance and should be fully respected. The same applies to the requirement to…
ECB monetary policy decision
At Thursday's meeting the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the minimum bid rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 2.00%, 3.00% and 1.00%…
ECB has no comment on EU currency controls report
The ECB declined to comment, according to Reuters, on a newspaper report on Thursday 4 December that the EC is looking at the legal issues surrounding exchange controls to prevent a damaging rise in the euro. The report said Brussels could lawfully…