Central Banking
Bank of Canada, Business Outlook Survey, Spring 06
The Bank of Canada published its Spring 2006 Business Outlook Survey on 17 April, saying businesses are positive about the economic outlook.
Reserve diversification
Sweden's central bank is the world's oldest, and according to this article published on Friday 21 April, it is also proving to be among the most proactive in managing its foreign exchange reserves.
Comment: Sweden sheds reserve dollars
The Swedish Riksbank dropped a bit of a bombshell on international currency markets on Friday 21 April by announcing a significant reduction in the share of dollars and yen in its foreign reserves portfolio. Although Sweden has a relatively small…
BoJ overpays on travel expenses
The Bank of Japan has paid overstated amounts of domestic travel expenses claimed by some of its personnel and has been told by the Board of Audit of Japan to correct the problem, Jiji Press reported Thursday 20 April.
MEPs criticise ECB appointment
Following the approval of Jurgen Stark's nomination to the ECB's board by the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Wednesday 19 April, some centre-left MEPs have criticised the go-ahead.
Padoa-Schioppa 'serious' candidate for econ min
Romano Prodi, Italy's election winner, said on Friday 21 April that former European Central Bank board member Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa was a "serious" candidate to become his economy minister, but that nothing had been decided yet.
Deutsche Bundesbank - Annual Report 2005
According to the Deutsche Bundesbank's Annual Report 2005, last year saw cyclical improvements in the German economy, which coped fairly well with the substantial increase in crude oil prices.
Can the new Fed keep eyes off rear-view mirror?
According to this article published Thursday 20 April, the minutes from the last FOMC meeting, released on Tuesday 18 April, had something old, something new -- and something borrowed from former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan.
Indian central bank must let housing bubble be
This article published Thursday 20 April asks, is the Reserve Bank of India trying to prick the housing bubble, something that both Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke have shied from doing in the U.S.?
Interactive access to Fed statistical data
The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday 19 April announced its new Data Download application, which provides interactive access to Federal Reserve statistical data in a variety of electronic formats.
SF Fed's Yellen on prospects for the economy
In the speech 'Prospects for the economy' given on 18 April Janet Yellen of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco said the U.S. economy is likely to slow back toward trend growth after a "hot" first quarter, and runs the risk of slowing more based on…
Comment: Transparent monetary policy
The "transparency revolution" in modern monetary policy is little over a decade old. Just recently, some commentators have started to ask whether this development can go too far. Although it certainly could in theory, it probably hasn't yet.
Issing: Inflation forecasts may rise with oil
European Central Bank chief economist Otmar Issing said in an interview that the ECB may have to revise its inflation forecasts upwards after the latest increase in oil prices.
Chicago Fed's Moskow on the auto industry
In the speech 'Issues for carmakers and parts suppliers and challenges for the seventh district's auto industry' given on 18 April Michael Moskow of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said the U.S. auto industry faces a string of issues as market share…
Fed's Fisher says economy in a sweet spot
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said on Wednesday 20 April that the U.S. economy can cope with a housing slowdown and that the effect of oil prices on inflation had been manageable.
PBOC taking measures to add flexibility
China's central bank is taking measures to increase the flexibility of its exchange rate, an official with the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday 20 April.
BoJ's Muto says rate shift depends on data
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto said Thursday 20 April that the central bank will decide on when to end its zero rate policy by analysing various economic data.
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, March 06
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for March 2006, published 20 April, was +0.37 in March, up from +0.19 in February.
IMF's Rajan says 10% growth feasible in India
The International Monetary Fund's chief economist said on Wednesday 19 April that India's medium-term goal of growing its economy 10 percent a year is realistic if it can boost infrastructure and job creation.
Bank of Finland - Annual Report 2005
According to the Bank of Finland's Annual Report 2005, monetary policy for the euro area in 2005 was conducted in conditions of slower economic growth and higher inflation than expected.
Chile paper on central bank independence
The Central Bank of Chile Working Paper "Central bank independence and monetary policymaking institutions: Past, present, and future" published April 2006 reviews the institutional changes that occurred over the last two decades in the area of central…
Portrait of Matti Vanhala unveiled
A portrait of the late Governor of the Bank of Finland was unveiled at the Bank recently.
Fed's Olson: Update on the U.S. economy
In the speech 'Update on the U.S. economy' given on 13 April Mark Olson of the Federal Reserve said a low unemployment rate and high rates of resource use did not so far seem to be combining to push underlying inflation up.
Bank of England Inflation Attitudes Survey, Apr 06
The Bank of England published its April 2006 Inflation Attitudes Survey on Tuesday 18 April. Inflation expectations in the UK have risen to their highest level in seven years, the survey said.