Central Banking
Sweden's Ingves on cash management
In the speech 'Cash management - an important social issue' given on 26 April Stefan Ingves of the Sveriges Riksbank said one of the Riksbank's tasks is to promote a safe and efficient payment system.
Federal Reserve Board - Beige Book, April 2006
The Federal Reserve published its April 2006 Beige Book survey on 26 April. U.S. economic activity continued to expand across the country in March and the first half of April, but higher energy prices put pressure on costs, the report said.
RBNZ leaves OCR unchanged at 7.25 per cent
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced on Thursday 27 April that the Official Cash Rate (OCR) will remain at 7.25 per cent.
Bank of England appoints Chief Legal Adviser
The Bank of England announced on Thursday 27 April that Dame Juliet Wheldon has been appointed Chief Legal Adviser and Adviser to the Governor.
BoE's new framework for sterling money markets
The Bank of England confirmed Wednesday that it will launch its new framework for official operations to implement interest rate decisions in the sterling money markets on 18 May.
Nacha honours Fed vice chairman Roger Ferguson
The Electronic Payments Association will present its 2006 George Mitchell Payments System Excellence Award to Roger Ferguson, Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve, who is completing his service to the Federal Reserve and the U.S. payments system on 28…
Fed's Bernanke on the outlook for the U.S. economy
In testimony 'Outlook for the U.S. economy' given on 27 April Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said that rising energy prices jeopardize a currently strong economy.
Iceland considers joining euro
Iceland could seek to join the euro, according to Prime Minister Halldor Asgrimsson.
Free trade is king, says BoE chief
Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said on Thursday 27 April that resisting protectionism is the key to prosperity.
China surprises with interest rate rise
The People's Bank of China raised its benchmark interest rate on Thursday 27 April in an unexpected move.
Comment: 'Surprise' rate hike in China
The People's Bank of China yesterday raised its benchmark one-year lending rate to 5.85% from 5.58%. The move surprised analysts who had expected the authorities to stick to a combination of administrative measures and higher reserve requirements for…
Central Bank of Cyprus - Annual Report 2004
According to the Central Bank of Cyprus's Annual Report 2004, the acceleration in economic activity, particularly domestic demand, led to a current account deficit of 5.8% of GDP in 2004 compared with 3% of GDP in the previous year.
European Central Bank - Annual Report 2005
European Central Bank vice-president Lucas Papademos told the European Parliament on Tuesday 25 April that further ECB interest rate hikes will be needed.
Bernanke prods Fed to review communication
According to the article "Bernanke prods Federal Reserve to review communication strategy" published on Wednesday 26 April , the Federal Reserve is preparing a comprehensive communication review. The examination will take months and seek a consensus…
Interview with Zhang Zhuoyuan
In an interview published on Wednesday 26 April, Zhang Zhuoyuan of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said China may widen the yuan's trading band when "suitable" to allow more gains and boost investors' role in setting exchange rates.
Comments: Reserve diversification
Recent reports of the diversification official foreign exchange reserves in the Middle East have not gone unnoticed. Economists are starting to ask if the prospect of large-scale reserve diversification is back on the international agenda, following a…
Guarding against large policy errors
In the Bank of Canada Working Paper "Guarding against large policy errors under model uncertainty" the author discusses some recent approaches that can be used to avoid large policy errors when policy-makers are uncertain about the true model of the…
Strategist says central banks may sell dollars
Central banks are likely to sell dollars in 2006 as they move to diversify their reserves in favour of the euro, according to BNP Paribas SA.
Tanigaki wants orderly fx moves
Japan's finance minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said on Tuesday 25 April that sudden exchange rate movements seen after the recent Group of Seven meeting were undesirable.
ECB to weigh rate options - Gonzalez-Paramo
ECB executive board member Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo said on Tuesday 25 April that the euro zone central bank will debate raising interest rates at its meeting next week, but nothing was fixed.
China must develop bond market - PBOC official
China needs to foster more domestic consumption to drive the nation's economy, and also develop its bond market, an official with the People's Bank of China said.
Srejber on how the Riksbank's assets are managed
In the speech 'How the Riksbank's financial assets are managed' given on 25 April Eva Srejber of the Sveriges Riksbank said by investing in asset types with credit risk, that is, other fixed-income securities than government bonds, we can increase the…
Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report, March 2006
The Deutsche Bundesbank published the English version of its March 2006 Monthly Report on 25 April. The report said the EU intensification of excessive budget deficit procedures against the German government is justified.
National Bank of Denmark - Annual Report 2005
According to the National Bank of Denmark's Annual Report 2005, the economic upswing in Denmark became even stronger in 2005.