Iraq
Boston Fed's Minehan urges vigilance on US economy
Cathy Minehan, President of Boston Federal Reserve, said in a speech on Monday 31 March that vigilance will be necessary following a raft of negative economic data, according to a report by Reuters. She also described the risks to the economy from war…
Fed's Bies - Gauging war impact may take some time
Fed board member Susan Bies said on Monday 31 March thatit was difficult to separate out the effect of war on the economy compared to other fundamental economic issues, Reuters reports. It could take a few months for a clear picture to emerge as to what…
Richmond Fed's Broaddus: Economy will weather war
Richmond Fed president Alfred Broaddus has said economic recovery in the US will be strong enough to ride out the Iraq war. The economy should be "solid enough" to withstand current shocks, he said.
Mexico tightens monetary policy
Mexico's central bank tightened monetary policy on Friday March 28, according to a report in the Financial Times. The bank does not change interest rates but uses a mechanism known as the "corto" which limits the amount of liquidity available to the…
US seizes $1.62bn in Iraqi assets
The US has seized $1.62 billion in Iraqi assets and will use the money to rebuild the country once the conflict has ended, reports Associated Press
CentralBankNet Monday Special Feature
SPECIAL FEATURE - In an exclusive interview with CentralBankNet.com, Professor Fatih Ozatay, the vice-governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, explains how the war in Iraq is affecting the central bank, and what it is doing to mitigate…
Bush meets Fed chief to indicate priorities
Fed chairman Alan Greenspan met with George Bush earlier this week to brief the US president on the state of the US economy, according to a report in the Financial Post. The meeting came as Mr Bush prepared to ask Congress for at least US$70-billion to…
Iraq cb governor's complaints re Iraqi funds
A report from the BBC claims that Iraqi TV has broadcast an interview with the governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Issam Rashid Hwaish, in which he accused the US authorities of "an act of piracy" by seeking to take over Iraqi funds which had already…
RBA's McKibbin sees long slowdown
The U.S.-led war in Iraq will drain the world economy for years to come, sapping income from a wide range of countries, Australian central bank board member Warwick McKibbin has said, it is reported by Reuters
BoJ calls emergency meeting on Iraq
The Bank of Japan held an emergency meeting on Tuesday 25 March to discuss what effect war in Iraq might have on the Japanese economy, according to a report by Associated Press. The bank also announced that it would increase its purchase of commercial…
Asia prepares for impact of Iraqi war on markets
Contingency plans are being made for Asian markets to maintain normal functioning during the Iraqi conflict, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
US plans to seize Iraqi assets worldwide
Funds held worldwide by the Iraqi government will be seized and transferred to the New York Federal Reserve for holding, according to a BBC report. This includes money held under the names of the Central Bank of Iraq and the State Organization for…
ECB Press Release on the war in Iraq, 20 March
Statement of the ECB's Governing Council following the start of military action in Iraq, 20 March.
Interview with former governor - Iraq central bank
INTERVIEW - Salah al-Shaikhly was a Governor of the Iraqi Central Bank in the early 1970s. In an interview published by Reuters on Wednesday March 19, he told how Saddam Hussein's regime had ruined the Iraqi economy running up a debt of US$ 112bn. He…
US plans post war change to Iraq's central bank
The US Treasury is making plans for the running of Iraq's economy after a US led war on the Gulf state ends, according to The New York Times. The plans include the rebuilding of the Iraqi central bank and the establishment of a new currency.
Fed's Gramlich: Iraq impact 'imponderable'
Ed Gramlich of the Federal Reserve said on Thursday that a conflict with Iraq would have consequences for the US and world economy but that the effects were impossible to predict.
Can't compare today's economic problems with 1991
ARTICLE - Stephen King looks at Alan Greenspan's testimony and says comparing the current economic position with the 1990-91 experience is rather futile. Both periods involved Iraq and at least one period will have involved war. Other than that however,…
EU Commission wants joint action by central banks
The EU Commission is in favour of a joint effort by all international central banks if a war in Iraq should weaken the world economy, financial daily Boersen-Zeitung said, citing an internal note from the EU's economic and monetary affairs commissioner…
Prodi urges more flexibility on Pact
European Commission president, Mr Romani Prodi, has called for more flexible rules governing the 12-nation euro zone, amid warnings that war on Iraq could throw the region's economy further off course. Prodi famously referred to the Pact as 'stupid'…
Ex-central bank official sees Gulf conflict profit
A former vice-governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon says that the imminent US-led war against Iraq might hold more than a negative impact on this country.
Greenspan testimony questions stimulus for economy
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Tuesday that uncertainties over a possible war with Iraq posed "formidable barriers" to business spending and made it tough to gauge the U.S. economy's health.
Swedish central bank warns on Iraq uncertainty
Sweden's central bank has warned that uncertainty surrounding a potential war with Iraq may take their toll on investment and economic growth throughout Western industrialised economies.
Ferguson: Can't predict war impact on economy
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson said on Wednesday it is very difficult to gauge how a potential war with Iraq would affect the U.S. economy.
Gold price soars on war talk concerns
Worries that US Secretary of State Colin Powell's speech on Iraq could be a harbinger of war sent gold soaring to a six-and-a-half year high on Wednesday as investors piled into the traditional safe haven in times of trouble.