Central Banking
Russia, Nigeria devalue, shun "losing battle"
The Nigerian and Russian central banks have both said that they will allow their currencies to depreciate to protect their reserves stockpile. The actions signal Moscow and Abuja have acknowledged that the real values of their currencies have weakened in…
Norway slashes rates on "major shocks"
Norges Bank has followed the Riksbank's lead in chopping 175 basis points off its key rate. Exposure to "new major shocks" sparked the move, which leaves the central bank's key rate at 3%. Elsewhere, three other central banks cut their key rate by 50…
Fed cut a psychological boost but little more
At face value, Tuesday's Federal Open Market Committee statement was an historic move that underlined the US central bank's commitment to do all it can to counter the crisis. But, though the statement met with widespread approval from the markets, it…
Norwegian SWF looks to block Buffett takeover
Norway's sovereign wealth fund has filed a lawsuit to block a proposed takeover of a company it part-owns by Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company headed by Warren Buffett, an investor.
Old Lady mulled another mammoth move
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which slashed rates by a percentage point to take them to an all-time low earlier this month, considered backing an even larger move, the minutes of the meeting reveal.
Liquidity risk and sovereign risk premia
A working paper from the Bank of Canada uses arbitrage-pricing theory to study the relationship between liquidity risk and sovereign bond risk premia in the London Stock Exchange in the late 19th century.
DSK on the Fund's future
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has said that the objectives of the Fund remain just as relevant today as they did in the 1940s; the question was how to meet them.
HKMA Quarterly Bulletin
The latest issue of Hong Kong's central bank's Quarterly Bulletin contains the regular six-month monetary and financial stability report and two feature articles on property market indicators and Islamic finance in the territory.
FSF Asia-Pacific statement notes strains
The fifth annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific group of the Basel-based Financial Stability Forum noted that although the region had been able to withstand the financial crisis to date a number of strains had begun to appear.
UK inflation falls as King writes letter
British inflation fell in November but remains far above the Bank of England's target, obliging Mervyn King, the governor of the central bank, to write another letter explaining why inflation remains so high and what the Bank is doing to bring it down.
Norway to tap oil wealth
The Norwegian is expected to spend more of its oil revenues to avoid a severe recession, and might draw on the assets of its $332 billion (£222 billion) sovereign wealth fund to finance a new fiscal spending package.
Cameron talks tough on bankers
David Cameron, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party in Britain, has talked tough on going after "irresponsible" City bankers.
Saudi announces half-a-point cut
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, Saudi's central bank, reduced its repo rate from 3% to 2.5% on Tuesday.
Swedes and Danes offer €500m swap to Latvia
The Danish and Swedish central banks offered swap lines worth half a billion euros to Latvia's central bank on Tuesday.
Hildebrand calls for restrictions on leverage
Philipp Hildebrand, the vice-chairman of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), said excess leverage was the main cause of financial fragility and the current global banking crisis, and called for restrictions on leverage ratios.
Bank of Uganda - Annual Report 2007
In 2007 Uganda's economy faced strong exogenous inflationary pressures, notes the latest Annual Report from the Bank of Uganda.
Trinidad and Tobago's Williams on SME
The small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector is a major provider of employment in the domestic economy, said Ewart Williams, the governor of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago.
Impact of retail market structure on prices
Changing retail market structure in the Czech Republic was responsible for an average yearly decrease in prices of 0.8 percentage point during 2000-05, this paper from the Czech National Bank finds.
Coordinating prudential supervision
This IMF paper argues that Europe need closer coordination between its prudential supervision and financial safety nets.
Ireland announces €10bn bank bailout
The government of Ireland pledged up to €10bn for recapitalising ailing banks in a bid to encourage lending and limit the damage on the real economy.
Fingers pointed at SEC in Madoff affair
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a leading American regulator, is under fire for failing to spot alleged investment fraud by Bernard Madoff.
IMF to cut growth forecast
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will cut its forecast for growth in the global economy in 2009, its managing director said.
BoE survey confirms household squeeze
The results of a survey of household finances, published on Monday by the Bank of England, finds that 71% of British homeowners and tenants have experienced declines in their disposable income in September compared with the same month last year.
Venezuelan governor passes away
The governor of the Central Bank of Venezuela, Gaston Parra Luzardo, died in hospital over the weekend. He was 75.