Central Banking
Serbia's Jelasic: savings a priority
An increase in domestic savings should be key domestic priority in 2009, said Radovan Jelasic, the governor of the National Bank of Serbia.
Hungary cuts on fears of "sharp downturn"
The National Bank of Hungary on Monday lowered rates for the third time since the start of December on signs of a more severe-than-expected economic slowdown.
London's lifelines lack coherence
The dangerously mixed messages underlying the British government's rescue attempts threaten to derail efforts to secure stability, argues Robert Pringle, the editor-in-chief of Central Banking journal.
Monetary policy should consider intermediaries
The size of the balance sheets of market-based financial intermediaries are important macroeconomic state variables for monetary policy, finds a paper published by the New York Federal Reserve.
SNB's Jordan: recession unavoidable
A recession appears unavoidable for the Swiss economy in 2009, said Thomas Jordan, a member of the governing board of the Swiss National Bank.
Zim to set denomination record for issued note
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is to introduce the highest-ever denomination issued note - worth Z$100 trillion.
Dublin nationalises third-largest lender
The Irish authorities on Thursday took control of Anglo Irish, the country's third-largest lender, on fears that negative market sentiment could spark a run on the bank.
BoA rescued as Congress grants $350bn for Tarp
Washington has granted Bank of America, the United States's third-largest lender, up to $138 billion in federal aid on signs that a batch of assets taken onto the lender's balance sheet following its buyout of failed investment bank Merrill Lynch could…
Basel Committee bids to strengthen Basel II
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision on Friday issued a string of draft measures aimed at enhancing the Basel II capital framework in light of the credit crunch.
Turkey slashes to record low as growth slumps
The Central Bank of Turkey on Thursday chopped two percentage points off its benchmark rates, taking the measures to their lowest-ever levels.
BoE's Gieve: market signals mixed
The fortunes of the financial markets in the New Year have been mixed, said Sir John Gieve, the deputy governor of the Bank of England.
Hard-to-value assets halt investment - Fed's Kohn
The large quantity of hard-to-value assets remaining on financial institutions' balance sheets is acting as a barrier to private investment, said Donald Kohn, the vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Government should not give in to fear
The government should not capitulate when the public shows an excessive fear towards risk, says a new paper from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
ECB cuts, Trichet signals more could come
The European Central Bank (ECB) has chopped a half point off its key rate and indicated rates could reach a fresh low in the months to come. The news followed confirmation that eurozone inflation sank below the central bank's target in December.
Fed's Beige Book reports weakening activity
The latest edition of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, a guide to business conditions in the 12 districts overseen by the regional Feds, indicates that economic activity continued to weaken in December across the country.
G30 proposes reforms to punish biggest banks
The biggest financial institutions must be subjected to more stringent regulation and central banks must take a greater role in safeguarding stability, the Group of Thirty, an influential consultative group on economics, has warned.
We should have warned Europe more: IMF's Belka
The head of the International Monetary Fund's European department has acknowledged the Fund failed to adequately warn European states of the risks from the fallout of the financial crisis.
Recovery to begin in 2009 - Philadelphia's Plosser
President of the Philadelphia Fed Charles Plosser sees the economy starting to slowly recover in the second half of 2009.
Philippines' Tetangco: 2009 will be critical
Philippines ended 2008 fairly unharmed from the global financial turmoil but 2009 is critical, said Amando Tetangco, the governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines.
Innovation impacts money demand
Technological developments affect average money holding and interest elasticity of money demand, research from the Bank of Italy notes.
Rouble at fresh low as devaluation continues apace
The rouble slumped to a record low against the greenback on Thursday as the country's central bank stepped up its devaluation of the currency.
Denmark slashes on back of ECB move
The National Bank of Denmark lopped three-quarters of a percentage point of its key rate on Thursday in response to the European Central Bank's (ECB) move.
Anti-Fed senator behind Geithner nomination block
Jim Bunning, a Republican politician who last year labelled the Federal Reserve "a leading cause of the mess we're in", is one of two senators attempting to block Tim Geithner becoming Treasury Secretary on Friday.
Academics advocate discretionary ECB supervision
European Union member states should be allowed to choose whether or not they want to be regulated by the European Central Bank (ECB), academics say.