Central Banking
IMF approves Lipsky as first deputy MD
The International Monetary Fund's board on Thursday 1 June approved John Lipsky as IMF first deputy managing director, the second-highest position at the Fund.
BoJ's Muto to visit Washington June 4-8 for IMC
Toshiro Muto, deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, will visit Washington D.C. to attend the International Monetary Conference, the central bank said Friday 2 June.
NY Fed's Geithner on uncertainty and transparency
In the speech 'Uncertainty and transparency in the conduct of monetary policy' given on 31 May Timothy Geithner of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said the neutral range of U.S. interest rates is almost impossible to capture, making the near-term…
Sweden's berg on the economy and monetary policy
In a speech given on Tuesday 30 May, Sveriges Riksbank deputy governor Svante berg said in his experiences of forecasting work there is considerable uncertainty linked to longer-term forecasts.
Buba's Weber on European financial integration
In the speech 'European financial integration and (its implications for) monetary policy' given on 23 May Axel Weber of the Deutsche Bundesbank said financial integration is a mostly beneficial process which is driven by market forces as well as…
Getting to the bottom of foreign currency reserves
According to this recent article from The Japan Times, the news about sharp increases in foreign reserves held by emerging economies has been big news in Japanese papers.
ECB reshuffle aims for collegiate mood
According to the article "ECB reshuffle aims for collegiate mood and focus on policy" published by the FT on Friday 2 June, the European Central Bank has divided the role of its chief economist in a move that will allow an evolution in ECB thinking and…
Central Bank of Iceland, Financial Stability 2006
According to the Central Bank of Iceland's Financial Stability report 2006, the overall findings of the previous report are unchanged, but more challenging waters clearly lie ahead.
Comment: Surprises as ECB reshuffles
The ECB last week surprised analysts by naming ex-Bundesbank official, Jurgen Stark, as head of its economics division. As expected, the central bank has split the management roles for the important divisions of economics and research, both previously…
Interview with Otmar Issing
In an interview published Thursday 1 June, outgoing ECB chief economist Otmar Issing said his parting message to his ECB colleagues was to get to grips with inflation.
Danmarks Nationalbank, Financial Stability 2006
Denmark's central bank published its Financial Stability report for 2006 on Friday 2 June. According to the report, Denmark is currently enjoying favourable economic conditions.
Burhan Goklemez named dep gov in Turkey
Turkey named central bank insider Burhan Goklemez as a deputy governor of the bank on Wednesday 31 May.
Central bankers to hold panel meeting
Top central bankers from Europe, Japan and the United States will participate in a panel meeting in Washington on Monday 5 June.
Kohn Senate hearing set for 8 June
The Senate Banking Committee said on Thursday 1 June that it will hold a hearing on the nomination of Federal Reserve governor Donald Kohn to be vice chairman at the Fed next Thursday.
ECB plans meetings in Dublin, Vienna in 2007
The European Central Bank said on Friday 2 June that it will hold meetings of its governing council in Dublin and Vienna next year.
Sveriges Riksbank, Financial Stability Report 1:06
Sweden's central bank, the Sveriges Riksbank, published its first Financial Stability Report for 2006 on 31 May. The prospects of the financial system managing potential shocks are good, according to the report.
Monetary policy conduct of the Swiss National Bank
The Bank of Japan Working Paper "Monetary policy conduct of the Swiss National Bank: the experience from 2001 to 2004" published May 2006 investigates the monetary policy conduct of the SNB during the period 2001 to 2004 and the accompanying financial…
Fed minutes show uncertainty on future hikes
Federal Reserve policymakers at their May meeting considered raising a key interest rate by half a percentage point before deciding on a quarter-point increase, minutes published Wednesday 31 May showed.
Nickell: 'Are Europeans lazy? Or Americans crazy'
In the speech 'Are Europeans lazy? Or Americans crazy?' given on 27 May Stephen Nickell of the Bank of England said there is no clear explanation as to why people in France and Germany work less than those in Britain, the United States or in Scandinavian…
BoJ's Fukui on quantitative easing
In a speech given on 1 June Toshihiko Fukui of the Bank of Japan said the central bank's quantitative easing policy, which lasted for nearly five years till March 2006, helped in bringing recovery back to the deflation-hit Japanese economy.
IMF paper on the European single financial market
The IMF Working Paper "The lender of last resort in the European single financial market" published May 2006 examines challenges in effectively implementing the lender-of-last-resort function in the EU single financial market.
ECB's Financial Stability Review, June 2006
The European Central Bank published its June 2006 Financial Stability Review on 1 June. In the report the ECB said an abrupt unwinding of the US current account deficit could put sharp downward pressure on the dollar and lead to a rise in US long-term…
ECB announces distribution of responsibilities
Within the framework of its collective responsibility for the overall functioning of the business areas of the European Central Bank, the Executive Board of the ECB agreed Thursday 1 June on a distribution of responsibilities among its members, with…
BoJ's Haru urges caution on rate moves
Bank of Japan board member Hidehiko Haru said on Thursday 1 June that the central bank need not end its zero interest policy too fast, and must avoid surprising markets.