Central Banking
First woman takes over as SBP chief
The first woman ever to be appointed as the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) took up her position on Monday 2 January.
Interview with ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet
In recent comments European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said that monetary policy "cannot resolve all problems by itself". "We need profound structural reforms to increase our growth potential", Trichet warned.
Bernanke may have to grow up fast
Alan Greenspan's first major test came a mere 10 weeks into his tenure as chairman of the Federal Reserve, with the stock market crash of 1987. This article published on Wednesday 4 January looks at the challenges that could face Ben Bernanke when he…
Are we headed toward one world currency?
This article published on Friday 6 January suggests that we are unlikely to see one world currency in our lifetimes, but that we may see a new currency zone develop in China.
Asian FX intervention may have less bite this time
Asian central banks have made it clear they are not happy with a surge in their currencies as 2006 gets under way, this article published on Friday 6 January notes.
Argentina's Kirchner replaces Lavagna
Argentine President Nestor Kirchner yesterday replaced Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna on Monday 2 January following disagreements between the two with regard to inflation.
Interview with Hans Tietmeyer
Former Bundesbank president Hans Tietmeyer said in comments published Friday 6 January, that it's too early to pass final judgment on the legacy passed down by Alan Greenspan. "He is an impressive personality. He is open to debate. You can use all…
Bundesbank rejects report of 1,500 job cuts
The German government is planning to cut about 1,500 jobs at the Bundesbank by the end of 2007, Der Spiegel magazine reported, quoting a letter Barbara Hendricks, secretary of state to the finance ministry, sent to Volker Wissing, a member of the lower…
BOJ official sees steady progress on deflation
Japan is making steady progress in its fight against deflation as consumer prices appear set to keep rising amid a balanced economic recovery, a senior Bank of Japan official said Friday 6 January.
Korea using all means to weaken currency
South Korea's finance ministry said on Friday 6 January it would mobilise all possible means to curb the won's recent sharp appreciation against the US dollar.
Taiwan says FX turnover no intervention indicator
The Central Bank of Taiwan has urged speculators to stop second-guessing central bank policy actions on the Taiwan dollar on the basis of the forex market's daily turnover.
OECD report says Swiss economy to underperform
The Swiss economy is poised to grow slower than expected this year because of lusterless productivity gains, meaning the Swiss central bank should not raise interest rates until a recovery has been established, the OECD said in a report published Friday…
ECB addendum to bond markets report
The European Central Bank published an addendum to the November 2004 report entitled "Bond markets and long-term interest rates in non-euro area Member States of the European Union and in accession countries" (third edition) on Monday 2 January.
ECB's message can get lost in translation
On occasions the European Central Bank's monthly news conferences on interest rates can be as much an exercise in linguistic guesswork as a window on the thinking of the world's number two central bank, according to this article published Wednesday 4…
ECB paper on the new Basel capital framework
The ECB Occasional Paper "The New Basel Capital Framework and its implementation in the European Union" published December 2005 gives an overview of the main issues that relate to the EU implementation, mainly from the perspectives of financial stability…
Switzerland gives ECB a lesson on interest rates
According to this article published on 28 December, it's only four hours on the train from the ECB's Frankfurt headquarters down to Zurich - yet it provides a very different brand of central banking.
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Jan/Feb 2006
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for Jan/Feb 2006 includes the article "The Fed's monetary policy rule" by William Poole. The article "Are the causes of bank distress changing? Can researchers keep up?" says that since 1990, the banking…
Constancio says no specific ECB rate rises planned
The European Central Bank has no specific plans for future monetary policy changes, ECB Governing Council member Vitor Constancio of Portugal said on Wednesday 4 January.
Spain sees risk to economy of house price fall
The risk of a sharp fall in house prices is increasing and could put a brake on Spain's robust economic growth, the Bank of Spain's governor said in a report published on the bank's website.
ECB misses inflation target
The European Central Bank failed to hit its inflation target for the sixth year running last year, according to figures from Eurostat.
Study shows Fed deflation tools can work
The Federal Reserve has several ways to boost the economy even if official U.S. interest rates were ever to hit zero, but the public needs to understand them to make them effective, a new Fed study shows.
PBOC pledges continued improvement on ex rate
The People's Bank of China disclosed the macro-control goals for its monetary policy in 2006 on Thursday 5 January. China's SAFE also revealed plans "to actively explore ways of investing foreign exchange more efficiently".
The Eurosystem, the Union and beyond
The European Central Bank on 27 December published a collection of contributions made on the occasion of the ECB colloquium "The Eurosystem, the Union and Beyond - The single currency and implications for governance", which was held in honour of Tommaso…
IMF to help with GCC monetary union plan
The International Monetary Fund has offered help to GCC countries to proceed with their monetary union plan and has proposed the creation of a body similar to the European Union's Eurostat office to support the project.