Central Banking
China's market sideshow turns into main event
According to this article from Bloomberg, published Wednesday 28 February, the only thing that is surprising about this week's plunge in Chinese stocks is that anyone would be surprised.
BOJ says market should be ready for global flows
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui told a forum on the money market Thursday 1 March that the Japanese money market should make necessary adjustments to be able to deal with growing global capital flows.
Greenspan says US recession possible, not probable
Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said a recession in the U.S. is possible, though not probable this year as excess inventory is being reduced quickly, according to people attending a CLSA Japan Forum in Tokyo Thursday 1 February.
Report says watchdog to probe ECB settlement plan
The European Central Bank's plans to establish an integrated securities settlement system in the euro zone will be examined by the region's competition watchdog, according to a report by the FT Thursday 1 February.
Kenya names new head of central bank
Economics professor and think-tank director Njuguna Ndung'u was named as the new head of the Central Bank of Kenya on Thursday 1 March to replace the former governor who was suspended.
Thai central bank eases controls
The Bank of Thailand said Thursday 1 March it intends to further ease capital controls on inflows of foreign funds that were imposed in December to weaken the Thai baht.
Bini Smaghi on the governance of the euro area
In the speech 'The governance of the euro area (eight years on)' given on 27 February Lorenzo Bini Smaghi of the ECB said eurozone finance ministers should exercise greater discipline in their comments on exchange rates.
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Mar/Apr 2007
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for March/April 2007 includes an article which examines the association between stock market booms and monetary policy in the United States and nine other developed countries during the 20th century.
IMF's Rato on the Japanese economy
In a speech given on 26 February Rodrigo de Rato of the IMF said warned policymakers and investors about increasing growth in yen carry trades and urged Japan to make clear that deflationary pressures are being rooted out.
Mizuno says BOJ needs to keep raising rates
The Bank of Japan needs to keep raising interest rates, board member Atsushi Mizuno said in a speech Wednesday 28 February, a week after he and other policy board members voted to increase interest rates for the second time in six years.
ECB's Wellink says euro economy good, rates low
European Central Bank governing council member Nout Wellink said on Tuesday 27 February that eurozone interest rates were still low but oil prices are clouding the inflation outlook.
ECB's Stark continues to see inflation risks
European Central Bank board member Juergen Stark told Die Welt Wednesday 28 February that although eurozone inflation will probably slow this year, medium-term price developments remain a concern.
Buba's Weber signals ECB rate hikes
Bundesbank president Axel Weber signalled Wednesday 28 February in a speech that the European Central Bank was set to further raise its key interest rates, which are already at a five-year high point.
SNB's Jordan hints at further rate hikes ahead
Thomas S Jordan, alternate member of the Swiss National Bank's governing board, suggested Tuesday 27 February in a speech that the SNB will again raise interest rates at its meeting this spring.
Fed's Bernanke on long-term fiscal challenges
In testimony 'Long-term fiscal challenges and the economy' given on 28 February Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said that the administration and federal regulators are closely monitoring financial markets in the wake of the biggest sell-off in stock…
NY Fed's Geithner on liquidity & financial markets
In the speech 'Liquidity and financial markets' given on 28 February Timothy Geithner of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said central banks should not focus on using policy to prevent asset bubbles, especially because liquidity is so difficult to…
Garganas says price risks growing
European Central Bank council member Nicholas Garganas told Bloomberg in an interview that economic growth may prove stronger than the ECB forecasts and inflation risks are increasing.
Wall Street still listens to Greenspan
This article published Wednesday 28 February looks at recent comments from Alan Greenspan, saying you would hardly know he had been gone from the Federal Reserve for more than a year, judging from the markets.
Blanchflower on developments in UK labour market
In the speech 'Recent developments in the UK labour market' given on 26 February David Blanchflower of the Bank of England said inflation in the UK is likely to fall back towards target by the middle of 2007 and well below it by the end of the year.
Do we need the IMF to resolve a crisis?
The Bank of Canada Working Paper "Do we need the IMF to resolve a crisis? Lessons from past episodes of debt restructuring" investigates how debt restructurings have evolved over the decades.
Liikanen on regional economic integration
In the speech 'Regional economic integration and monetary cooperation' given on 1 February Erkki Liikanen of the Bank of Finland said the role of monetary integration has been of decisive importance in the European context.
CNB's Tuma on the exchange rate forecast
In the speech 'The exchange rate forecast' given on 22 February Zdenek Tuma of the Czech National Bank said there is little doubt that the exchange rate plays a critical role in any attempt to forecast the business cycle in a small open economy.
BoE Payment Systems Oversight Report
The Bank of England published its third Payment Systems Oversight Report on Tuesday 27 February. The report says its overall message is encouraging, summarising the developments in the key UK payment systems over the past year and explaining the focus of…
BoE announces retirement of Alastair Clark
Alastair Clark, adviser to the governor of the Bank of England on financial sector issues, is to retire from the Bank of England at Easter after nearly 36 years' service, the bank said Monday 26 February.