Central Banking
A primer on Islamic finance
This IMF working paper provides a review of the current state of market development in Islamic finance and examines the legal and economic implications of shariah compliance.
Assessing financial soundness indicators
This paper analyses the relationship between selected macroeconomic and financial soundness indicators (FSIs) such as capital adequacy, asset quality and profitability.
Hedge funds to rebuff German regulators
According to reports, updated guidelines on best practice published by hedge fund industry associations on 22 May will not heed German calls for a full voluntary code of conduct for the industry.
New board for German regulator
A new board will govern BaFin, the German banking supervision agency, following an internal fraud scandal that gripped the agency in 2006.
Norwegian oil fund up 1.5%
Norway's Government Pension Fund - Global produced a total return on investment of 1.5% during the first quarter of 2007, which the Bank of Norway said was 0.09 percentage points above the benchmark set by the government.
Cyprus's Orphanides prioritises euro entry
The newly-appointed governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus, Athanasios Orphanides, has told the country's parliament that overseeing a smooth introduction to the euro in January is the central bank's number one priority.
What next from Chinese reserve managers?
These two articles analyse this week's announcement that the new agency managing part of China's $1.2 trillion in foreign reserves will buy a $3 billion stake in the American private equity firm, Blackstone Group LP.
Central banks and economic research
In this speech, Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, emphasises the importance of research to the work central banks do.
Governors matter - new paper
This new working paper from the Peterson Institute for International Economics looks at whether or not monetary policy expectations are affected by the appointment of a new central bank governor.
Monetary operations in China
This Bank of Japan Working Paper suggests that the People's Bank of China's money market operations have been focused mainly on China-US interest rate differentials for the sake of stability in the Renminbi exchange rate after the July 2005 reform.
The outlook for the Indian economy
In the speech Dr Y.V. Reddy, the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, discusses macroeconomic performance, the financial sector, the short term outlook, and the challenges and strengths of the Indian economy.
FSA's inaction on split caps chided
The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) has been criticised for closing a five-year investigation into the split capital investment trust scandal without taking action against any individuals or firms.
Fed's Lacker: core inflation still too high
Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, said on 22 May that core inflation was still too high and rising expectations of future price pressures was a source of concern.
China hikes rates, loosens currency markets
The People's Bank of China raised interest rates for the fourth time in a year on 18 May and widened the yuan's daily trading limit against the dollar.
ECB holds rates steady
The European Central Bank held its key interest rate steady at 3.75% on 17 May, in the light of strong growth prospects but hinted that inflation is becoming a concern.
Kuwait removes dinar's dollar peg
The central bank of Kuwait de-linked its currency, the dinar, from the depreciating dollar on 20 May and opted for an exchange rate mechanism tied to a basket of other currencies.
Latest St Louis Fed Review published
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has published its May/June issue of its Review, a journal covering national and international economic developments, particularly focusing on their monetary aspects.
Trichet interview
This Financial Times interview with Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, covers a variety of topics from the German economy and eurozone growth, to the need for further structural reforms on the Continent, and the prospects of the…
SARB's Guma on SA debt market
In this speech, Dr X.P. Guma, the Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank argues that sovereign debt markets will need to address the inability of adjacent emerging and developing to raise financing in their own currencies beyond their own…
Malaysian governor on Islamic Finance
Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia gave a speech at the 4th IFSB summit on 15 May 2007 regarding the need for a cross-sectoral approach in Islamic financial services.
A new RTGS system for Iraq
The Iraqi central bank has reportedly started with the implementation of a new electronic real-time gross settlement payment system.
Bank of Canada Review, Spring 2007
The Bank of Canada published its Review for Spring 2007 on Thursday 17 May. The Review includes the article 'Renewing the International Monetary Fund: A review of the issues'.
Fed's Kroszner on globalization & capital markets
In the speech 'Globalization and capital markets: Implications for inflation and the yield curve' given on 16 May Randall Kroszner of the Federal Reserve said the ease that investors can move money around the globe has spurred a "currency competition"…
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, May 2007
According to the firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's May 2007 Business Outlook Survey, activity in the region's manufacturing sector improved slightly in May.