Central Banking
ECB view on Bank of Italy reform in next fortnight
The European Central Bank will give its view on the proposed reform of the Bank of Italy in the next fortnight, ECB vice-president Lucas Papademos said Friday 30 September.
Report says China's reserves still rising fast
China's foreign exchange reserves continued to rise in August, a newspaper reported on Friday 30 September, suggesting further upward pressure on the yuan.
Comment: When will Basel II bite
The Basel committee's members are committed to implement their new capital accord in just 15 months. The basic framework should go live on January 1, 2007; with the most advanced approaches following at the end of 2008. But what about those non-member…
Prosecutors probe Fazio for 'abuse of office'
Antonio Fazio, governor of the Bank of Italy, was secretly placed under investigation in early August, prosecutors in Rome disclosed on Thursday 29 September.
Zeti wins Central Banker of the Year award
Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz has been awarded the title of Central Banker of 2005 by Euromoney, the international publisher.
Italy should leave a horse's head on Fazio's bed
According to this article published on Tuesday 27 September, by now Bank of Italy governor Antonio Fazio's career prospects should make Kate Moss look like employee of the year. Instead, he still has a job for life under Italian law, it says.
IMF paper on inflation-targeting central banks
The IMF Working Paper "Governance structures and decision-making roles in inflation-targeting central banks" surveys decision-making roles of governing bodies of central banks that have formally adopted inflation targeting as a monetary framework.
Bank system stability: cross-Atlantic perspective
This ECB Working Paper derives indicators of the severity and structure of banking system risk from asymptotic interdependencies between banks' equity prices.
ECB paper on exchange rate communication
The ECB Working Paper "How successful are exchange rate communication and interventions? Evidence from time-series and event-study approaches" analyses whether communication and actual interventions in FX markets are successful in moving exchange rates…
Japan's Fukui on the outlook for the economy
In a speech given on 29 September Toshihiko Fukui of the Bank of Japan said that the chances are growing that the central bank will end its super-stimulative monetary policy early next year.
BoE's Lambert warns on disappointing GDP
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Richard Lambert warned in a newspaper interview on Thursday 29 September that UK GDP growth is likely to fall short of the central bank's best estimate and that consumer spending remains weak.
Bank of Finland cautions on optimism
The Bank of Finland predicted Wednesday that economic growth in the country will slow down this year to 1.6 percent and increase to some 4 percent in 2006.
ECB's Mersch warns on inflation effect from oil
European Central Bank council member Yves Mersch said in an interview on Wednesday 28 September that oil prices at current levels risk boosting wages and feeding inflation.
Japanese MOF's Hosokawa says deflation persists
Japan's Vice Finance Minister said on Thursday 29 September that the country is still experiencing deflation and the government still needs to make the utmost efforts to beat price falls.
Bosnia highlights banking supervision need
Bosnia and Herzegovina's Principal Deputy High representative Larry Butler highlighted the need to centralise banking supervision in BiH under the central bank on Thursday 29 September.
Bank of Italy board supports Fazio
A majority of the Bank of Italy's governing board reaffirmed its confidence in beleaguered governor Antonio Fazio on Thursday 29 September.
Swedish central bank governor resigns
Sveriges Riksbank governor Lars Heikensten announced Thursday 29 September he will resign after he was nominated by the government to serve on the European Court of Auditors.
Comment: Comparing policy structures
The IMF yesterday released a working paper surveying the governance and decision-making structures of inflation-targeting central banks.
Fed's Greenspan on economic flexibility
In the speech 'Economic flexibility' given on 27 September Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said asset bubbles fuelled by "market exuberance" invariably burst and policy-makers cannot safely pierce them.
RBA's Macfarlane on global imbalances
In the speech 'What are the global imbalances?' given on 28 September Ian Macfarlane of the Reserve Bank of Australia said current account surpluses currently being recorded across Asia are likely to persist in the medium term in the absence of policy…
Why has gold been rising?
With gold reaching a near-18 year high in trading, this article published on Monday 26 September says gold bugs are now enthusiastically talking of $500 an ounce and beyond.
ECB's Papademos on growth in euro area economies
In the speech 'Growth and competitiveness in euro area economies' given on 22 September Lucas Papademos of the ECB said growth in Germany and Italy has lagged behind the rest of the euro zone in recent years because of specific structural problems in the…
ECB Observer - Back to the rules
This publication released on Tuesday 27 September suggests that by publishing Governing Council meeting minutes, the ECB could improve the transparency and efficiency of its monetary policy substantially, thereby supporting its stability-oriented course.
Comment: What triggered global imbalances
Ian Macfarlane, the governor of the Australian Reserve Bank, yesterday provided a fascinating analysis of the causes of the macroeconomic imbalances that plague the global economy at present. His analysis of the causes also bears important implications…