Central Banking
Discount window borrowing hits fresh high
US commercial banks borrowed an average of $16.8 billion per day from the regional Federal Reserves' discount windows in the week to Wednesday, the highest-ever amount.
Zimbabwe plans reforms to ease consumers' plight
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is to publish plans aimed at alleviating the impact of hyperinflation on consumers, Gideon Gono, the governor of the central bank, said on Thursday.
Japanese inflation spikes to 1.9%
Annual core inflation in Japan soared by almost half a point in the year to June to 1.9%, up from 1.5% the previous month.
ECB's Liebscher: we could hike again
Klaus Liebscher, the governor of the National Bank of Austria and a member of the European Central Bank's (ECB) rate-setting council, said rates could rise again in the coming months.
Ecuador's central bank chief quits
Robert Andrade, the president of the Central Bank of Ecuador, has resigned after less than five months in charge.
New Zealand surprises with rate cut
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Thursday cut the benchmark official cash rate a quarter point to 8%.
Koruna's climb hampering economy: CNB officials
Zdenek Tuma, the governor of the Czech National Bank, and Mojmir Hampl, a member of the central bank's rate-setting board, have warned that the appreciation of the koruna is damaging the country's economy, prompting speculation that the central bank will…
Singapore enhances liquidity management
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is to allow more banks to borrow from its standing facility in a bid to improve liquidity management in the banking system.
Brazil shocks markets with rate spike
The Central Bank of Brazil on Wednesday confounded analysts' expectations, opting to increase its benchmark Selic rate by 75, not 50, basis points.
Draghi on Italy's improving finances
Italy's public finances continued to improve in 2007, allowing for the excessive deficit procedure started by the European Commission in 2005 to be stopped, said Mario Draghi, the governor of the Bank of Italy.
Beige Book: US growth deteriorating
The Federal Reserve's Beige Book, which reports economic trends from the regional Feds, reveals a slowdown in growth compared to June.
US main target for petrodollar recycling
The United States continue to be the main recipient of oil-related financial funds from Gulf countries, according to a new research from the European Central Bank.
Enforcement, collateralised debt and the economy
Collateralised debt has been shown to impact business cycle fluctuations, but to what extent is this affected by the efficiency of debt enforcement? A new paper from the Bank of Canada investigates.
Two regional Feds pushed for discount rate rise
Directors of two regional Federal Reserves called for a quarter-point increase to the discount rate last month, it emerged Tuesday.
EU imposes sanctions on Zimbabwe
Gideon Gono, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is barred from the European Union (EU).
SWF report from State Street
The latest report from State Street Corporation, a provider of financial services to institutional investors, assesses the impact of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) on the global economy. Currently State Street estimates that SWFs have about $3 trillion in…
Dollar depreciation reflects value: IMF's Lipsky
The dollar is now the closest to its medium-term equilibrium value it has been in a decade and is set to remain the global reserve currency, said John Lipsky, the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
BoE MPC split three ways on July vote
The scale of the Bank of England's monetary-policy dilemma was underlined on Wednesday when the minutes of the July rate-setting meeting revealed a three-way split.
Case for covert special liquidity support opaque
Michael Foot, a former executive director for supervision at the Bank of England, weighs up the pros and cons of allowing the Bank of England to lend in secret.
Israel's Fischer praises bank fees reform
A recent reform of bank fees will increase competition and lower the costs for customers, said Stanley Fischer, the governor of the Bank of Israel.
Fed's TAF is effective
The Federal Reserve's Term Auction Facility (TAF) helped ease conditions in money markets, finds a new paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Japan faces fragile loan demand
Loan demand from Japanese firms worsened significantly from April to July and reached the lowest level since July 2004, according to the Bank of Japan's quarterly opinion survey of senior loan officials.
Bank of Italy - Annual Report 2007
The Bank of Italy's latest Annual Report spells out the central bank's plans for reorganising its head office, branch network and representative offices.
Inflation in industrial countries "global"
A new paper published by the Chicago Federal Reserve shows that inflation in industrialised countries is largely a global phenomenon.