Central Banking
Fed's Bernanke on the Chinese economy
In the speech 'The Chinese economy: Progress and challenges' given on 15 December Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said Chinese policy-makers risk losing control of their economy unless they let the yuan rise in value and strengthen their financial…
Philadelphia Fed Business Review, 4th Quarter 2006
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia published its Business Review for the Fourth Quarter 2006 on 13 December. The latest issue has articles on housing, exports, and segmented markets. Written by Senior Economic Analyst Tim Schiller, the housing…
International Journal of Central Banking, Dec 06
The December 2006 issue of the International Journal of Central Banking was published on Friday 15 December. The impact of jumps, regime switches, and linearly changing correlation term structures on the risk management of basket options is examined in…
SNB's Hildebrand on risk management
In the speech 'Risk management' given on 14 December Philipp Hildebrand of the Swiss National Bank said effective risk management requires that all relevant risks be identified and assessed regularly, in a manner that is as unbiased as possible.
Ireland's Hurley on SEPA and NPIP
In the speech 'The challenges ahead - SEPA and NPIP' given on 12 December John Hurley of the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland said the SEPA project aims to ensure that all consumers throughout the euro area will have available to…
PBOC's Fan says China would gain from yuan rise
A modest appreciation of the yuan is good for China and will help to curb speculation on the currency, the Xinhua news agency reported Friday 15 December, citing Fan Gang, a member of the central bank's monetary policy committee.
Buba's Weber says ECB won't bow to rate pressure
The European Central Bank will definitely not put off possible further rises in interest rates to avoid potential clashes with eurozone politicians, Bundesbank President Axel Weber said Friday 15 December in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine…
Sweden's Riksbank raises rates to 3%
The Sveriges Riksbank increased its repo rate to 3.00 pct from 2.75 pct Friday 15 December in response to rising inflation combined with continued good levels of economic activity.
Trust me, Ben, if Mervyn can do it, so can you
This article published Friday 15 December by Bloomberg, compares the Bank of England's communication strategy with the Federal Reserve's. In less than a decade of independence the BoE has leapfrogged the Fed in terms of clarity, it says.
Sri Lanka sees healthy growth rate for economy
According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka's December 2006 Monetary Policy Review, published Friday 15 December, the economy continues to grow at a healthy rate.
Conference announcement and call for papers
The Sveriges Riksbank has announced a conference "The Evolution of Financial Markets and Financial Institutions: New Threats to Financial Stability" will take place between 5-7 September 2007. The conference seeks to gather academics and policymakers to…
Poland's central bank nominee withdraws candidacy
The Polish president's office said Thursday 14 December that Jan Sulmicki, who was nominated earlier this week as the next governor of the National Bank of Poland, has withdrawn his candidacy for "personal reasons".
Rethinking the governance of the IMF
This International Monetary Fund Working Paper attempts to set out the principal issues that need to be resolved in formulating a proposal for quotas and voice reform in the IMF that could command broad support.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, December 2006
The European Central Bank published its December 2006 Monthly Bulletin on Thursday 14 December. In the report the ECB said it will act decisively if necessary to keep inflation pressures in check.
Bank of England Inflation Attitudes Survey, Nov 06
The Bank of England published its November 2006 Inflation Attitudes Survey on Thursday 14 December. UK inflation expectations for the coming year rose to 2.7 pct in November from 2.5 pct in August, the survey found.
BoE's Gieve on pricing for perfection
In the speech 'Pricing for perfection' given on 14 December John Gieve of the Bank of England warned that while the UK financial system remains stable some vulnerabilities have edged up.
Bank of Canada Review, Autumn 2006
The Bank of Canada published its Review for Autumn 2006 on 13 December. The Review includes the article 'MUSE: The Bank of Canada's New Projection Model of the U.S. Economy'.
BoJ poised to leave rates unchanged - report
The Bank of Japan is expected to keep interest rates unchanged next week in its final policy board meeting for 2006, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported Wednesday 13 December, without citing sources.
SNB raises interest rates by 25 basis points
Swiss National Bank (SNB) president Jean-Pierre Roth told a half-yearly press conference on Thursday 14 December the SNB will continue to pursue its strategy of gradual normalisation of monetary policy if the economy behaves as expected.
Bundesbank to cut another 800 jobs
The Bundesbank said Wednesday 13 December it is to cut an additional 800 jobs over the next six years.
Slovenia 'well prepared' for euro
Slovenia has entered the final phase of preparations for the launch of the euro on New Year's Day, and is ready for the switchover, a central bank official said Thursday 14 December.
Paulson calls on China for looser yuan
U.S. treasury secretary Henry Paulson, called on China to reduce currency controls and clamp down on software piracy in the first round of talks held Thursday 14 December.
Uganda cb optimistic on 2007 growth
The central bank of Uganda is positive about the projected 6% gross domestic product (GDP) growth is within reach next year The New Vision website reported Wednesday 13 December.
Bank of Japan's headwinds complicate recovery
According to this article from Bloomberg, published Tuesday 12 December, there is probably no one more disappointed than Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui about Japan's slow growth.