Central Banking
Zalm says French on their own over ECB
Outgoing Dutch finance minister Gerrit Zalm said in an interview published Wednesday 14 February that no other eurozone countries share France's wish for politicians to exercise more control over the European Central Bank.
RBA's Battellino appointed deputy governor
The Australian government appointed Ric Battellino as deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia on Wednesday 14 February for a five-year term.
BoJ's Fukui says risks to sustained growth remain
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui said Wednesday 14 February he remains cautious about the outlook for sustained growth of the Japanese economy because it is still exposed to various risks.
PBOC says Wu's remarks don't rule out rate action
The People's Bank of China said Wednesday 14 February that comments by its vice governor published yesterday do not rule out the use of interest rates as an appropriate tool to absorb excessive liquidity.
BoC sees room to improve central bank committees
This article from Reuters, published Monday 12 February, looks at the recent paper "Monetary Policy Committees in Action: Is There Room for Improvement?" noting that central banks have shifted away from the "dictatorial" governor as decision maker, in…
Bank signals one more rate rise for 2007
The Bank of England implied on Wednesday 14 February that interest rates will be raised one more time in 2007, to 5.5%.
China finance official may head reserves body
China's vice-minister of finance is seen taking charge of the new body planned to manage part of China's massive foreign exchange reserves, the Financial Times reported Wednesday 14 February.
Carlos Hurtado named to Mexico central bank board
Mexican president Felipe Calderon nominated Carlos Hurtado, a former deputy finance minister in charge of spending, to the central bank board, Bloomberg reported Tuesday 13 February.
Cyprus makes request to join eurozone, says EU
The European Commission has received an application from Cyprus to join the euro zone, spokeswoman Amelia Torres said Tuesday 13 February.
Bernanke in a democratic lion's den
According to this article from Dow Jones, published Tuesday 13 February, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will hope not to become a snack this week when he walks into a Democratic lion's den.
Paper on debt sustainability assessment
According to the Working Paper "Debt sustainability assessment: The IMF approach and alternatives" by Charles Wyplosz of the Graduate Institute of International Studies, debt sustainability is an essential attribute of good macroeconomic policies but its…
Central bank independence and inflation: A note
This Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Working Paper documents increased central bank independence within the set of industrialized nations.
Kansas Fed's Hoenig on competitive capital levels
In the speech 'Ensuring adequate and competitive capital levels in a rapidly changing banking environment' given on 5 February Thomas Hoenig of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said for new capital standards and the remainder of our supervisory…
PBOC official says current rates 'appropriate'
The current level of Chinese interest rates is "still appropriate" given economic and financial indicators, a senior People's Bank of China official said in an interview published Tuesday 13 February.
IMF's de Rato says G7 open minded on gold sales
International Monetary Fund managing director Rodrigo Rato said the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations were "open-minded" about allowing the Fund to sell part of its gold reserves.
EU's Almunia says 'no problem' for exchange rates
Current exchange rates, mainly the value of the euro against the yen, pose no threat to the economy, the EU's Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Joaquin Almunia said in a magazine interview Tuesday 13 February.
Phil Fed's Survey of Professional Forecasters
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia published its First Quarter 2007 Survey of Professional Forecasters on 13 February. Two measures of core inflation in the U.S. economy will decelerate in 2007 and hold nearly steady over the following two years,…
Mexican central banker sees no need for rate hike
A vice-governor of Mexico's central bank wrote in an article Monday 12 February Mexican food price hikes have not pushed up inflation expectations enough to merit an interest rate hike.
St Louis Fed's Poole on state of the U.S. economy
In the speech 'State of the U.S. economy' given on 9 February William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis warned that unexpectedly strong growth could spur the Fed to raise interest rates again.
RBA Statement on Monetary Policy, February 2007
The Reserve Bank of Australia published its February 2007 Statement on Monetary Policy on 12 February. In the report the RBA cut its inflation forecast for 2007, saying three interest-rate increases last year may have contained price pressures.
Canada paper on electronic trading platforms
This Bank of Canada Working Paper examines the impact of increased transparency, brought about by the introduction of three electronic trading systems, on the brokered interdealer market for Government of Canada benchmark securities.
Canada paper on monetary policy committees
The Bank of Canada Working Paper "Monetary policy committees in action: Is there room for improvement?" reviews economic, experimental, sociological and psychological studies to identify criteria for the optimal institutional setting of a central bank…
Cb of China (Taiwan) to change name
The Central Bank of China (Taiwan) announced Saturday 10 February it has changed its English name as shown on its website in a move to avoid possible confusion with financial institutions in China.
Trichet warns markets on carry trades risk
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet warned markets this weekend at the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting that one-way bets in currency markets posed risks.