Central Banking
Hungary raises interest rates
The Hungarian central bank surprised markets with a half-point rate hike on Monday.
Italian banks' merger breakthrough
Two of Italy's biggest banks are to merge to form Europe's 10th largest bank with a market value of €55bn ($80bn).
Interest rates round-up
A brief round-up of recent interest rate decisions in central banks in emerging markets.
Jackson Hole attendees stick to the script
Central bankers and academics at the Fed's annual Jackson Hole conference in the United States discussed the impacts of globalisation at length, but gave away little on immediate policy directions.
BIS paper on business continuity
A new paper from the Bank of International Settlements sets outs business continuity principles for financial market participants and authorities.
Ghana goes for risk-based supervision
The governor of the Bank of Ghana, Paul Acquah, set out how the central bank plans to move towards a risk-based framework for banking supervision.
Trinidad and Tobago governor's inflation speech
Rocketing food prices are to blame for the rising inflation according to Ewart Williams, governor of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago.
NBER paper on optimal monetary policy
An NBER research paper on optimal monetary policy concludes that, in the presence of price stickiness, policymakers should focus their efforts actions towards low inflation volatility.
Thai central bank wins appeal against ex-governor
A recent decision by Thailand's Supreme Administrative Court clears the way for the central bank to press for damages against former governor, Rerngchai Marakanond.
Japan's inflation lower than expected
Japanese core CPI for July showed a smaller than expected rise in inflation of 0.2% year on year.
Czech central bank holds rates
Thursday's meeting of the Czech National Bank's governing board ended with rates being held at 2.25%, a spokeswoman said.
Value in money laundering doubles in China
The amount of money involved in money laundering in China has more than doubled in 2005 from RMB4bn ($500m) to RMB10bn ($1.25bn), the central bank said on Thursday 24 August.
Governor Hou criticises politicians' pay rise
The governor of the central bank of the Solomon Islands, Rick Hou, has criticised the timing of a recent pay rise awarded to local politicians.
Macfarlane says world can cope with oil shocks
The world economy is surprisingly good at absorbing price pressures from rising oil prices, said Ian Macfarlane, the outgoing governor of Australia's central bank.
The euro as an invoice currency
A new ECB working paper investigates the determinants of currency invoicing in international trade.
Chilean cb's study of sovereign debt in Americas
This paper contains the first comprehensive database on sovereign debt systematically compiled to ensure comparability for all countries in the Americas, the authors claim.
Swedish deputy on currency unions
In a speech in to celebrate the Bank of Uganda's 40th anniversary, the first deputy governor of Sveriges Riksbank talks about how countries should prepare themselves for joining a monetary union.
Korea changes inflation target measure
Korea will target a new measure of inflation for 2007-2009, the central bank has said.
Russia raises reserve requirements
Russia's central bank has increased minimum required reserves on foreign bank deposits from 2% to 3.5% in an effort to combat inflation.
Botswana's productivity "embarrassingly low"
Research at the Bank of Botswana, suggests the country's competitiveness and productivity is "embarrassingly low", said the governor, Linah Mohohlo.
Remittances on the rise in the Philippines
Money sent home by Filipinos working abroad rose 18% to $1.1bn in June compared to the same month last year.
Bangladesh Bank acts on corruption
Bangladesh's central bank has taken action against seven of its officials for allegedly siphoning off money and defaulting on loan repayments.
Bank of Ghana governor on fraud
Paul Acquah, governor of the Bank of Ghana urged investigators to review operations in the light of the increasingly sophisticated methods involved in financial crime.
Chicago Fed on home ownership
The Chicago Fed has published and article explaining recent high levels of residential investment and rates of home ownership.