Central Banking
Bank of Italy bans second credit-card issuer
Move seen by Italian media as indicative of politicisation of money laundering and usury laws
Greek woes worsen as Fitch downgrades and capital flees
Fitch knocks two notches off rating; No solution over what will be done to help country’s banks facing capital flight
SNB’s Roth banked 15% pay rise last year
Jean-Pierre Roth’s pay topped $1m in 2009
Meirelles will stay as governor until year end
Brazilian central bank governor Henrique Meirelles stays put, hopes of the vice-presidency dashed by party politics
Kansas City Fed Letter
April Fed Letter focuses on role of community banks, card payments systems and agriculture based lending
Sarb: prime rate to repo rate spread immaterial
South African Reserve Bank paper finds the spread between its repo rate and the prime rate has no real implications for policy
Bank of Italy: lack of demand led to sluggish lending
Paper shows falling demand rather than supply for credit led to falls in lending during the crisis
Bernanke: Fed needed more tools to confront crisis
Federal Reserve’s Bernanke expresses distaste at decisions made during the crisis to a Dallas crowd
Jilted bondholders can attack Argentine central bank’s assets: US court
US judge decrees central bank and government one entity and breaks dam guarding assets from unpaid creditors; central bank expected to appeal ruling
Hoenig calls for Fed to lean against the wind
Kansas City Fed president challenges fundamental tenet of Greenspan-era central bank
Pressure mounts on China to let yuan appreciate
Renminbi revaluation whispers grow to a shout as US Treasury chief Timothy Geithner makes unscheduled visit amid signs of a thaw in relationship with Beijing
SEC announces tighter rules for asset-backed securities market
Proposals come after crisis underlined dangers of instruments’ complexity
RBI marks 75th anniversary with new goals
Governor Subbarao outlines new path for 2010
Philly Fed: US export growth could have been greater in the 90’s
Philadelphia Federal Reserve study finds that movement of labour to smaller firms prevented greater export growth
Chile: political unrest hinders growth
Banco de Chile research finds political instability leads to lower GDP
China looks to cut out dollar's go-between role
Central bank official says further currency pairings against rouble, ringgit and won under consideration
Fed minutes note pickup in labour, credit conditions
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s last meeting acknowledge signs of life in the US economy, but Kansas chief Thomas Hoenig dissents on low rates pledge
Greenspan deflects blame during heated testimony
Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan defends record but accepts some criticism
Gulf markets integrated enough for monetary union
IMF economists’ work indicates stage set for single-currency project
Icesave casts pall over Iceland’s credit outlook
Ratings agency Moody’s kicks its outlook on Iceland down to negative on intractable Icesave dispute, change leaves Icelandic bonds hovering just above junk status
FSA appoints new communications chief
Tom Kelly joins FSA directors’ board in bid to revive relationship with government
Greenspan defends position on free market
Former Fed Chairman deflects criticism over adherence to Ayn Rand's views on laissez-faire capitalism
IMF: foreign activity deepens emerging bond markets
IMF paper finds greater foreign presence in domestic bond markets reduces government yields and dampens volatility
ECB: German bonds the European safe-haven
ECB paper shows investors sought refuge in German bonds as crisis struck