Central Banking
Comment: More pounds in their pockets
According to the most recent IMF data on reserve holdings, the pound sterling has surpassed the yen as the third most popular reserve currency. A number of factors could see the pound's popularity increase further.
Central Bank of Malta - Annual Report 2005
According to the Central Bank of Malta's Annual Report 2005, the past year witnessed an important milestone in Malta's monetary history with the entry of the Maltese lira into ERM II.
ECB's Bini Smaghi on global imbalances
In the speech 'European and Asian perspectives on global imbalances' given on 14 July Lorenzo Bini Smaghi of the ECB said for the euro area, Asia has now become a more important trade partner than the US.
IMF's Kato on adapting to new global realities
In the speech 'Adapting to new global realities' given on 13 July Takatoshi Kato of the IMF said the Fund is studying a possible change in its voting structure to reflect the increasing weight of emerging market economies.
Sveriges Riksbank Economic Review 2nd Quarter 2006
The Sveriges Riksbank published its Economic Review for the 2nd Quarter 2006 on Thursday 13 July. The latest edition includes the article "The regulatory framework for banks in the EU: An introduction."
IMF paper on international policy coordination
The IMF Working Paper "International policy coordination and simple monetary policy rules" studies the optimal design of monetary policy in an optimizing two-country sticky price model.
Stern says Fed will remain diligent
The Federal Reserve is committed to its responsibility of avoiding a damaging rise in inflation, Minneapolis Fed president Gary Stern said on Thursday 13 July.
UAE says reserves shift not political
In an interview with the Financial Times, the United Arab Emirates' central bank governor confirmed a strategic decision had been taken to move 10 per cent of its $29bn foreign exchange reserves into euros.
BOJ raises rates, Fukui staying put
The Bank of Japan on Friday 14 July ended its five-year-old policy of keeping interest rates near zero, saying that the nation has emerged from deflation and overcome the long economic slump.
Barbados' Williams says hands off her staff
According to the Barbados Nation, the governor of the central bank of Barbados, Dr Marion Williams, has asked commercial banks to stop poaching her staff.
Comment: A new era for the BoJ
As expected the Bank of Japan raised interest rates for the first time since March 2001 at its monetary policy meeting on 14 July. The decision to end the zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) with a 25 basis point hike in the overnight rate was unanimous one.
IMF says BOJ hike welcome news
A senior IMF official on Friday 14 July welcomed the decision by the Bank of Japan to end the era of zero interest rates.
Dominican central bank adds UK£ to reserves
Dominican Republic is adding British pounds to its foreign monetary reserves because the United Kingdom's assets offer attractive return margins, central bank governor Hector Valdez Albizu said in an interview.
China may tighten yuan as economy grows
The Chinese controlled press reported on Thursday 14 July that the Chinese economy was forging ahead in the second quarter.
Central Bank of Malaysia - Annual Report 2005
According to the Central Bank of Malaysia's Annual Report 2005, economic expansion strengthened in 2005, driven by strong domestic demand and reinforced by the improvement in external demand.
RBA's Stevens on the conduct of monetary policy
In the speech 'The conduct of monetary policy' given on 13 July Glenn Stevens of the RBA said Australia's adoption of a medium term inflation target has served the country well in its conduct of monetary policy.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, July 2006
The European Central Bank published its July 2006 Monthly Bulletin on Thursday 13 July. In the report the ECB said it is exercising strong vigilance on inflation risks and expects interest rates to rise progressively if the euro zone economy continues to…
How do central banks write on financial stability?
This IMF Working Paper, published July 2006, surveys central bank financial stability reports, and proposes a framework for assessing them.
RBNZ's Bollard on an independent monetary policy
In the speech 'Can NZ expect to carry out independent monetary policy?' given on 13 July Alan Bollard of the RBNZ said New Zealand can still carry out its own independent monetary policy effectively, even though it has had to work against strong global…
Bank of Canada Monetary Policy Report Update
The Bank of Canada released its July 2006 Monetary Policy Report Update on Thursday 13 July. Growth in the first half of 2006 appears to have been a little stronger than projected, according to the report.
Two appointed to Bank of England's MPC
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee was back to full strength on Thursday 13 July with the appointed of two new members to fill the vacant places.
More Greenspan, less Volcker, needed in Japan
This article published Wednesday 12 July by Bloomberg says that the Bank of Japan may engineer its first interest rate increase since August 2000 on Friday.
BoK says inflation outweighs slowdown risk
Bank of Korea assistant governor Yeung-Kyun Rhee said Thursday 13 July that the current focus should be on inflation rather than growth in the South Korean economy.
Comment: Will McCreevy's approach work?
The European commissioner for internal market and services, Charlie McCreevy, has called for an industry-driven "code of conduct" to reduce the costs of European cross-border settlement and clearing, rather than propose a directive. Will his famous light…