United Kingdom
World Bank to borrow gold
UK - The World Bank is set to issue its first gold bond, according to informed sources in London. The bond is aimed to attract investment from central banks, notably in emerging markets. The agents are Goldman Sachs/J. Aron, the big US investment bank (J…
Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin - August 2001
Research - The Bank of England has published its latest Quarterly Bulletin, Volume 41, Number 3, for August 2001.
Back to Bretton Woods
UK - The anti-globalisation protesters have a point, argues Felix Rohatyn a former US ambassador to France, in the London edition of the Financial Times, 20 August. It is time to reform the IMF and World Bank, he says.
Are central bankers too territorial?
UK - A letter published in today's, 17 August, London edition of the Financial Times claims that central bankers hide behind their independence and protect their own turf.
Keynes lives
ARTICLE - Today's monetary policy is increasingly used as a Keynesian-style tool of demand management believes Robert Skidelsky, Professor of Political Economy at Warwick University in the UK.
Bank split over rate cut
UK - The Bank of England's surprise cut in interest rates earlier this month on 2 August was approved by a six-to-three majority, minutes from the rate-setting meeting have revealed.
Mervyn King on the International Financial System
SPEECH - Speech by Mervyn King, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England at the 20th Anniversary of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.
Bank of England Inflation Report - August 2001
REPORT - The Bank of England has published its latest inflation report for August 2001. The report suggests that the UK economy will remain weak in 2001 before starting to recover in 2002.
OFT to become payments systems regulator
UK - Competition watchdog - UK treasury believes new powers will cut £1bn 'excess profits' made by banks.
Why the Bank changed its mind
UK - Mervyn King will have some explaining to do when he presents the Bank of England's inflation report next week writes the FT in London, 3 August.
Surprise cut in UK interest rates
UK - The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has cut interest rates by 0.25%.
Bank of England committee reduces interest rates
UK - Bank of England Reduces Interest Rates by 0.25% to 5.0%
ECB press release - Interest rates unchanged
EUROPE - The European Central Bank has left all its key interest rates unchanged following its governing council meeting this morning.
Bank set to defy rate cut calls
UK - The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is widely expected to leave UK interest rates unchanged, despite a mixed picture for the British economy. The MPC began its monthly meeting today, 1 August, and is due to reveal its interest rate…
One-off costs of euro conversion estimated
ARTICLE - Research published today by Bannock Consulting shows that the total cost to UK business of converting to the euro are in the region of £10.3bn. Adding in the British Bankers Association estimate of £1 bn for the banking sector and Bannock…
Bank's legal might cited as grounds for appeal
UK - The fact that orders by the Bank of Thailand to financial institutions carry the equivalent weight of the law could serve as the basis for an appeal by the government in the Pin Chakkaphak extradition case.
Markets now more resistant to contagion - BIS head
INTERVIEW - Painstaking efforts to strengthen the international financial system are beginning to pay off with global markets resisting contagion from worries over Argentina's debt, according to the general manager of the Bank for International…
Strains in the eurozone
ARTICLE - The Financial Times in London published an article on 30 July by Christopher Taylor, a visiting fellow at the National Institute of Economic and Social research. He was chief adviser in the European division of the Bank of England.
Blair and Brown set euro vote timetable
UK - Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have drawn up a timetable for a euro referendum and are preparing to make a judgment, probably next year, about whether to call one, reports the Financial Times in London, 27 June.
Speech by Sushil Wadhwani of the Bank of England
SPEECH - Sushil Wadhwani of the Bank of England's MPC committee spoke on 24 July.
New London Rep for Bank Indonesia
UK - The London office of Bank Indonesia has a new Chief Representative.
Interview - Stephen Nickell of the bank of England
ARTICLE - The Bank of England has created faith in the UK economy and maintained a strong pound, Stephen Nickell tells Ed Crooks of the Financial Times, 23 July.
O'Neill plays down Argentine contagion risk-report
UK - U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill sees little likelihood of contagion spreading to other emerging market economies as a result of Argentina's financial crisis, the Economist magazine reported.
IMF press conference in London
UK - At 10am UK time today, 20 July, Garry Schinasi chief of the IMF's Capital Markets and Financial Studies Division spoke at a press conference held at the Bank of England.