Central Banking
G7 calls for further move on yuan flexibility
The G7 nations increased pressure on China to move to a more flexible currency regime on Saturday 3 December and asked the IMF to take a bigger role in offering advice on foreign exchange.
Comment: How will Shamshad Akhtar manage Pakistan?
Labouring under the onerous task to reconstruction following the terrible October 8 earthquake, which killed more than 40,000 people, and has left 3 million homeless, at least Pakistan has recently made notable economic progress.
Interview with new OECD secretary-general
In an interview published on Monday 28 November, Angel Gurria, the new secretary-general of the OECD, said the OECD should become the forum for resolving global imbalances.
How the Fed should steer the Bernanke transition
According to this article published on Monday 28 November, the minutes of the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting, released last week, suggest the Federal Reserve is having some difficulty handling the transition to a new chairman.
Bianchi appointed to Bank of Italy FX division
Bruno Bianchi has been appointed director general of Ufficio Italiano Cambi, the foreign exchange division of the Bank of Italy.
Argentine economy minister forced to resign
Roberto Lavagna was forced to resign this week as Argentina's economy minister, raising doubts over the sustainability of the country's economic recovery.
Nigeria's president approves CBN appointments
President Olusegun Obasanjo has approved the appointment of five new non-executive directors to the Board of the Central Bank of Nigeria following the expiration of the terms of the former members.
Crisis solved, but Reserve still political
According to this article published on Saturday 3 December, the Howard Government has practised classic crisis management on its problem with the Reserve Bank of Australia's board. This protects the Government and the Reserve Bank from further…
Interview with Bank of England's Walton
Speaking in an interview published on Wednesday 30 November, the most recent member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, David Walton, said the Bank of England should not rush to move interest rates until it has a clearer idea of whether…
State Bank of Pakistan governor retires
The governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, Dr Ishrat Husain, retired on Thursday 1 December. Tawfiq A. Husain was appointed as acting governor with effect from Friday and till the appointment of a regular governor.
Interview with Brandon Davies on risk management
In an interview published on Thursday 1 December, Brandon Davies, managing director of the Global Association of Risk Professionals, speaks about the implementation of Bank Indonesia's five year training program to raise risk management standards.
Yuan is still pegged to the dollar
According to this article published Tuesday 29 November, there's a good chance that 2005 will be remembered in the financial markets as the year in which China blinked and made the yuan more flexible. This misconception should be snuffed out fast, it…
BoE's Large on monetary policy
In the speech 'Monetary policy: Significant issues of today' given on 1 December Andrew Large of the Bank of England said wage pressures in the UK could still get stoked up by the rapid rise in the price of oil even though there is currently very little…
Sveriges Riksbank Inflation Report, No. 4, 2005
Sweden's central bank, the Sveriges Riksbank, published its Fourth Inflation Report for 2005 on Friday 2 December. After a temporary slowdown at the beginning of the year, growth has picked up again, both in Sweden and in the world economy as a whole,…
BoJ's Fukui on Japan's economy
In a speech given on 18 October (published 21 November) Toshihiko Fukui of the Bank of Japan said Japan's economy has emerged from its temporary pause and continues to recover.
Fed's Greenspan on budget policy
In the speech 'Budget policy' given on 2 December Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said good short-term prospects for the U.S. economy should not distract from huge looming fiscal strains that pose "significant" economic risks.
Proposal for BOJ's next-generation RTGS project
The Bank of Japan has released a consultation document on the proposal for the next generation of the BOJ-NET Funds Transfer System.
MAS says regulatory framework fundamentally sound
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has defended Singapore's regulatory framework, saying that it is fundamentally sound.
BoT should regulate payments, says committee
According to a government committee on electronic transactions, the Bank of Thailand should have the authority to regulate the electronic payment business.
Buba, BaFin, Bank of Italy sign agreement
The Bundesbank, Germany's financial watchdog BaFin and Italy's central bank Banca d'Italia have signed an agreement to cooperate in the regulation of Unicredito Italiano SpA following its takeover of HVB Group, according to a statement published by BaFin.
Trichet tight-lipped on future of ECB rates
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet declined to comment on Friday 2 December on the possibility of further rises in euro zone interest rates.
ECB Council Members back rate decision
European Central Bank council members Christian Noyer, Axel Weber, and Klaus Liebscher came out in defense of Thursday's decision to raise eurozone interest rates, saying it won't hurt economic growth.
RBA's Gerard resigns from Board
Australian businessman Robert Gerard resigned from the Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate setting Board on Friday 2 December, four days after reports he had to pay $150 million ($111 million) to settle a tax dispute.
Comment: IMF criticises ECB's move
The decision by the ECB to increase interest rates by 25 basis points has come in for a fair amount of criticism in the press and from market analysts. On Thursday 1 December the eurozone's central bank received another stinging blow.