Central Banking
Bending the yield curve to fit current fashion
This article published on Tuesday 21 February looks at the refusal of long- term interest rates to follow short-term rates higher when the Fed began raising rates in June 2004.
Biggest UK robbery promps BoE security review
The Bank of England is to review security for banknote storage following Britain's biggest ever robbery at a cash centre in Kent that may have netted the thieves between £40-50 million.
Poland's Samoobrona calls for sackable NBP head
Poland's Self Defence (Samoobrona) party has presented amendments to its draft act on the National Bank of Poland (NBP).
Sweden's Riksbank raises interest rates
Sweden's Riksbank raised its interest rate, the repo rate, by 0.25 percentage points to 2% on Thursday 23 February.
Greenspan speaks on outlook for energy
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan discussed the energy outlook and the U.S. housing market, among other topics, at a gathering hosted by ABN AMRO on Wednesday 22 February, an economist told Reuters.
Ferguson on globalization, insurers, & regulators
In the speech 'Globalization, Insurers, and Regulators: Shared Challenges Call for Collaborative Solutions' given on 23 February Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said he did not expect long-term interest rates to rise suddenly, although it was hard…
BOJ's Muto says shift won't mean policy tightening
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto said on Thursday 23 February that an end to the BOJ's ultra-loose monetary policy framework will not signify an immediate credit tightening.
Fukui says BOJ will end policy when conditions met
The Bank of Japan is hoping to end its quantitative monetary policy as soon as all the conditions laid down for its removal are met, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun quoted BoJ Governor Toshihiko Fukui as telling upper house's financial affairs committee.
Comment: Ferguson bids Fed farewell
The vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, Roger Ferguson, will retire in two months time and he will not attend the Fed's next rate-setting meeting on March 27-28. Ferguson's departure underscores the idea of a Fed in flux.
New York Fed's Foreign Exchange Operations Report
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Treasury and Federal Reserve Foreign Exchange Operations quarterly report for October-December 2005, the U.S. monetary authorities did not intervene in the foreign exchange markets during the October -…
Central Bank of Seychelles - Annual Report 2004
According to the Central Bank of Seychelles Annual Report 2004, strong recessionary conditions continued to persist in the domestic economy during 2004.
Thailand's Devakula: Central Banker of the Year
In a speech at the award for Central Banker of the Year - Asia 2006 given on 1 February M R Pridiyathorn Devakula of the Bank of Thailand said in a country where the functioning of financial market mechanism is not fully efficient, there is an important…
Reservations about reserves
According to this article published on Sunday19 February, a race is unfolding in Asia involving currency reserves. The favourite in this game of monetary one-upmanship is China, it says.
RBA's Stevens: Recent economic & financial trends
In the speech 'Some observations on recent economic and financial trends' given on 22 February Glenn Stevens of the RBA said inflation in Australia is well contained and inflationary risks are balanced, yet interest rates are still more likely to rise…
BoE voted 8-1 to hold rates
The Bank of England's policy-making Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 to keep UK interest rates unchanged this month, with Stephen Nickell again as the sole member calling for a reduction.
Fed can't rule out more rate rises
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's 31 January FOMC meeting released on Tuesday 21 February showed Fed officials felt a 14th straight increase in interest rates last month put borrowing costs near where they needed to be, but they could not rule out more…
Roger Ferguson resigns from Fed Board
In a surprise move, Roger Ferguson, Jr. submitted his resignationon Wednesday 22 February as Vice Chairman and as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, effective April 28, 2006.
Bank of Korea chief to visit Japan
The governor of South Korea's central bank will visit Japan this week on a three-day trip to sign a cooperation agreement with the Bank of Japan.
Nigeria introduces new Forex system
Nigeria introduced the new wholesale Dutch Auction System (DAS) of foreign exchange allocation on Monday 20 February to replace the old retail DAS in a bid to further liberalise the country's Forex system.
Solomon Islands to repay central bank debt
The Solomon Islands government has signed a deal that will restructure and repay a part of its $US30 million debt with the country's central bank.
Dallas Fed's Fisher says Fed wary of energy prices
Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher said on Tuesday 21 February the U.S. economy was currently "very strong" and energy prices would be monitored by the Fed in weighing future policy.
BoJ to make 'appropriate' decision on policy shift
Bank of Japan deputy governor Toshiro Muto said Tuesday 21 February the central bank will make an "appropriate" decision on when to end its ultra-loose monetary policy.
Comment: Transparency and institutions
One of the most striking transformations in central banking over the last twenty years has been the idea that central banks should be transparent in their conduct of policy. While it is fair to say that the benefits of transparency have become …
Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report, January 2006
The Deutsche Bundesbank published the English version of its January 2006 Monthly Report on 16 February. The report issued a blunt warning against rushing the expansion of the eurozone currency bloc and criticised prospective member Estonia over the size…