Central Banking
IMF's Lipsky upbeat on eurozone outlook
In an interview with Reuters published Thursday 22 February, IMF first deputy managing director, John Lipsky, said the world economy will slow slightly this year from 2006.
BoJ's Fukui expects gradual rate hikes
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui told lawmakers Friday 23 February that he is "open" to options of further rate hikes.
Iceland's Fridriksson on monetary policy
In the speech 'Monetary policy and its implementation' given on 20 February Ingimundur Fridriksson of the Central Bank of Iceland said the central bank has already stated its view that adopting the euro would be imprudent except by joining the EU.
Zeti says Islamic institutions must reach out
Bank Negara Malaysia chief Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said in a speech Friday 23 February that Islamic financial institutions must attempt to reach all levels of community to broaden its horizon.
Washington favors vigilance over hedge-fund rules
This article from The Associated Press, published Friday 23 February, looks at comments from officials that increased vigilance, not new rules, is the best way to handle risks in the hedge-fund industry.
Remittances in the Pacific region
This IMF Working Paper finds that the altruistic motive for remittances remains much stronger in the Pacific region than in the rest of Asia.
Chicago Fed Letter, March 2007
The March 2007 edition of the Chicago Fed Letter includes "Global Banking and National Regulation: A Conference Summary" by Cabray L. Haines, former senior associate economist, and Calvin T. Ho, associate economist.
BoE's Bean on the economic outlook
In the speech 'Economic Outlook' given on 21 February Charles Bean of the Bank of England said upside and downside risks to the inflation outlook are dividing Bank of England policymakers and making it difficult to predict which direction interest rates…
SF Fed's Yellen on the U.S. economy in 2007
In the speech 'The U.S. economy in 2007' given on 21 February Janet Yellen of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco said she still sees upside risks to inflation but that U.S. interest rates were "well positioned" to bring inflation down.
Fed's Kohn on fin stability and managing crises
In the speech 'Financial stability: Preventing and managing crises' given on 21 February Donald Kohn of the Federal Reserve said financial crises are inevitable from time to time and it is vital that the Federal Reserve have a hand in bank supervision to…
FOMC members upbeat on economic outlook
Federal Reserve officials at their January meeting shrugged off past concerns and said the outlook for growth and inflation was looking positive, according to minutes of the meeting released Wednesday 21 February.
UNMIK head rejects nomination for Kosovo board
According to internet news agency KosovaLive, the Kosovo government announced Wednesday 21 February that head of UNMIK Joachim Rucker has nullified the decision for the appointment of former minister of economy Ali Sadria as a member of the Steering…
Yam warns investors to 'fasten safety belts'
Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Joseph Yam said on Wednesday 21 February that the People's Bank of China's decision to raise the reserve requirement ratio on deposits will have little impact on mainland lenders.
Brazil's Lula considers central bank changes
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is preparing to order changes in the board of directors of the country's central bank, Dow Jones reported Thursday 22 February.
Czech euro adoption 2012 likely - fin min
The Czech Republic could realistically adopt the euro in 2012, the Finance Ministry announced Wednesday 21 February, according to Prague Daily Monitor.
No economic recovery without political reform
According to this article published by The Zimbabwean on Thursday 22 February, despite Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono's admission of the failure of his fire fighting economic policies, it is abundantly clear that the root cause of the…
RBA's Stevens on the Australian economy
In a speech to the House of Representatives given on 21 February Glenn Stevens of the RBA said it is more likely that interest rates will rise than fall although the central bank is more comfortable with the outlook for inflation than it was six months…
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, January 2007
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for January 2007, published 20 February, was -0.74 in January, down from +0.36 in December. The production and employment indicators showed the most significant change from the previous month, although all four…
BoC's Jenkins on the Bank of Canada Act
In a speech given on 20 February Paul Jenkins of the Bank of Canada said in terms of openness and transparency, in many ways, the importance of these issues goes to the heart of our main responsibility: the conduct of monetary policy.
Bank of Japan to keep 'accommodative' policy
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui said Wednesday 21 February it will maintain its "accommodative" monetary policy for some time, after voting to raise interest rates.
Minutes show 7-2 split on BoE rate vote
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted by a 7-to-2 margin to keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 5.25 pct at its meeting earlier this month, minutes showed Wednesday 21 February.
SNB's Roth says rates not high enough yet
Swiss National Bank (SNB) chairman Jean-Pierre Roth said in an interview published Wednesday 21 February that Switzerland's current interest rate level is still not high enough to guarantee price stability in the medium-term.
Fed's Bies says bad mortgage debt not problem
Federal Reserve governor Susan Bies said in a speech Tuesday 20 February the bulk of the mortgage market was not troubled by bad debt problems, which were concentrated in the subprime, tarnished-credit sector.
Russia reiterates reserve diversification idea
The Russian central bank remains interested in further diversification of the currency structure of its gold and forex exchange reserves, its first deputy chairman said in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday 21 February.