Central Banking
Spain's Ordonez: annual address
Speaking at the Bank of Spain's annual meeting, Miguel Fernandez Ordonez, the governor, took stock of the Spanish economy in 2006 its 13th continuous year of expansion.
Minutes of Polish monetary policy meeting
The minutes set out the committee's reasons for rejecting a quarter-point rate hike at the meeting three weeks ago, in favour maintaining the cost of borrowing at 4.25%.
National Bank of Hungary - Annual Report 2006
"In terms of inflation, 2006 was an unfavourable year," is the ominous opening to the National Bank of Hungary's assessment of 2006.
Dr Zeti on developing Islamic markets
Speaking at the Sukuk summit in London, the governor of Bank Negara Malaysia's discussed the development of Islamic capital markets in Malaysia.
Taiwan raises rates again
Taiwan's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate - the discount rate on 10-day loans to banks - by a quarter percentage point to 3.125% today.
China cool on IMF policy shift
The People's Bank of China reacted coolly to the change in the International Monetary Fund's currency monitoring policies (see our news item, 19 June).
BoJ to continue gradual rate hikes
The minutes of the May 16-17 board meeting of the Bank of Japan confirmed the view of members that the central bank should continue to raise interest rates gradually, in line with growth and inflation prospects.
Russian cb retains hold on banking regulation
The Central Bank of the Russia will hold on to its position as sole regulator of the banking sector, in the teeth of a determined effort by the State Duma to remove its power to revoke banking licences.
Bank of Papua New Guinea warns on spending
The Bank of Papua New Guinea issued a warning to the government against increased spending during the general elections, in the face of unfavourable external developments.
ECB's Bini Smaghi on euro entry
In this speech ECB executive board member, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, argues that there is "evidence that the euro may be setting in motion some endogenous process, moving the euro area progressively closer to the concept of an optimum currency area."
IMF authors on impact of remittances
In this article on remittances, published in the IMF's quaterly Finance & Development, the authors suggest that the "bottom line is that remittances cannot be a substitute for a sustained, domestically engineered development effort."
Gold and inflation - BoC paper
In this Bank of Canada Working Paper, the authors find that the gold price "contains significant information for future inflation for several countries, especially for those that have adopted formal inflation targets."
Del Cueto nominated as Mexican deputy governor
The Mexican president, Felipe Calderon, has proposed Roberto del Cueto as the deputy governor of the country's central bank for a seven-year term on 20 June.
Options open on Canadian securities regulator
The Canadian government says it will consider an alternative structure for securities regulation if it is favoured by most provincial authorities.
Riksbank's Monetary Policy Report
Published the day Sweden's central bank raised rates, the report sets out the Riksbank's thinking behind the rise and its assessment that that the repo rate will need to be around 4% at the end of the year
King outvoted over rates increase again
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England narrowly defeated governor Mervyn King at their policy meeting in June, voting 5-4 to keep the rate unchanged at 5.5%. This was the second time that the governor was on the losing end of an MPC…
Sweden raises key rate - and more to come
Sveriges Riksbank, Sweden's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate on 20 June for the eighth time in 18 months, this time lifting the repurchase rate by a quarter point to 3.5%, the highest level for over four years.
New governor for Slovenian central bank
After a months-long deadlock the parliament of Slovenia has finally approved a new central bank governor. The new governor is Marko Kranjec, an economics professor and financial expert who was the country's first finance minister.
Bank of Israel's wage dispute continues
The wage dispute at the Bank of Israel is continuing, with Eli Cohen, the wages director at the country's finance ministry, refusing to sign off on various clauses of the new collective employment agreement.
Hedge funds hope for voluntary standards
Thirteen of Europe's largest hedge funds are hoping to stave off political pressure for greater industry regulation by getting Sir Andrew Large, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, to head a study group examining voluntary standards.
Central Bank of Iceland clears rate confusion
The Central Bank of Iceland has issued a statement in which it "underlined" that its new representation of interest rates implies "no change in policy rates."
NZ dollar nears 20 year high against the yen
New Zealand's dollar, known as the "kiwi", appreciated to its highest value in almost 20 years against the yen as investors bet on the failure of the central bank to stem its gains.
Botswana's rates cut to 14.4%
The Bank of Botswana has cut the country's interest rates by 50 basis points to 14.5%, on the improved outlook for inflation.
"Ominous" fall in German's business confidence
Confidence among Germany's businesses fell in June, but opinions were split as to what this meant for the outlook for the economy.