Central Banking
Interview with IMF's Agustin Carstens
Agustin Carstens, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, recently talked about the challenges facing the Eastern Caribbean region.
State Bank of Pakistan appoints governor
The President of Pakistan appointed Dr Shamshad Akhtar as governor of the State Bank of Pakistan on Saturday 3 December for a period of three years.
BCEAO governor named as Cote D'Ivoire PM
The governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), Charles Konan Banny, has been named the new Prime Minister of the Cote D'Ivoire, formerly known as Ivory Coast.
Stark tipped as Issing's replacement at ECB
Germany wants to hold its seat on the European Central Bank's executive board and could nominate Bundesbank Vice President Juergen Stark to replace Otmar Issing next year, Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Mirow said in an interview this week.
ECB's Financial Stability Review, December 2005
The European Central Bank published its December 2005 Financial Stability Review on 8 December. In the report the ECB said the strength and resilience of the euro area financial system has further improved over the past six months, contributing to a…
ECB's Bini Smaghi on economic forecasting
In the speech 'Economic forecasting and monetary policy' given on 8 December Lorenzo Bini Smaghi of the ECB hinted that further interest rate increases may be on the way for the euro zone.
Fed's Bies on regulatory capital requirements
In the speech 'Linkages between Internal Capital Measures and Regulatory Capital Requirements' given on 6 December Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said Basel II provides a means for regulators to rely more on banks' internal estimates of risks-…
Knight on central banking: some secrets of success
In the speech 'Central banking: some 'secrets of success'' given on 1 December Malcolm Knight of the BIS said the media, markets and politicians place powerful demands on a modern central bank.
Paper on central bank research, 1990-2003
The Bank of Canada Working Paper "Quantity, quality, and relevance: Central bank research, 1990-2003" published December 2005 documents the research output of 34 central banks from 1990 to 2003, and use proxies of research inputs to measure the research…
Greenspan saves the world again
Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan attended his final G7 meeting in his official capacity last weekend. He receives various tributes, honours and gifts, including a cartoon depicting him as a goal keeper.
IMF chief economist sees further US rate hikes
The International Monetary Fund's chief economist, Raghuram Rajan, predicted on Friday 9 December that the Federal Reserve would probably continue to raise interest rates.
ECB's Issing says rate policy no block to recovery
The European Central Bank's interest rate policy is no obstacle to an economic upturn in the euro zone, ECB chief economist Otmar Issing told German weekly Rheinischer Merkur.
Greenspan says debate, openness must be balanced
Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said in response to questions from Congress that the FOMC works hard to balance policymakers' need to have private discussions about economic matters and investors' desire for transparency.
Fitch raises Mexico debt rating
Mexico's debt rating was raised one level by Fitch Ratings as the country reduces foreign debt and inflation decelerates, Fitch said in a statement.
Greece's Garganas: ECB won't follow Fed rate rises
The European Central Bank won't follow the US Federal Reserve's practise of continuous interest rate hikes, Bank of Greece governor and ECB Governing Council member Nicholas Garganas said Friday 9 December.
Tanigaki urges BOJ not to rush policy shift
Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki has urged the Bank of Japan not to rush in ending its current quantitative expansionary monetary policy framework.
Comment: Risks facing buoyant South Africa
As is the case in many emerging market economies, South Africa is yet to escape the perception that its economic fortunes are to a large extent dependent on the performance of its currency.
Fed's Ferguson on asset price levels & volatility
In the speech 'Asset price levels and volatility: Causes and implications' given on 15 November Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said the reduced volatility seen in overall economic activity since the mid-1980s does not seem to have carried over…
HKMA: Four pointers to financial stability
In a commentary published by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, HKMA Chief Executive Joseph Yam says open, medium-sized and sophisticated international financial centres are attractive to international fund flows, which are often volatile. The task of…
IMF's Krueger on economic policy reform
In the speech 'Mutual reinforcement: Economic policy reform and financial market strength' given on 1 December Anne Krueger of the IMF said for economists and policymakers, the experience of the 1990s taught us a great deal.
G-7 falters in sending stern message to China
Although finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrialised nations were optimistic three months ago that China's new currency regime would help the global economy find its lost balance, they weren't so sure last weekend, this article published…
ECB Monthly Bulletin, December 2005
The European Central Bank published its December 2005 Monthly Bulletin on Thursday 8 December. In the report the ECB defended its decision to raise its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point earlier this month, saying that the move was…
RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement, December 2005
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand published its December 2005 Monetary Policy Statement on 8 December. It also announced that the OCR will increase by 25 basis points to 7.25 per cent. The report said the RBNZ remains concerned about the tightness of…
Riksbank introduces new system for publication
On Tuesday 6 December Sweden's Riksbank began using a new electronic system, Observer Online, for the distribution of press releases, speeches, minutes of monetary policy meetings and statistics.