Central Banking
Russian people keep $30bn
The Central Bank of Russia has evaluated the volume of hard currency accumulated by residents at $20 billion to $30b, central bank chairman Sergei Ignatyev told a session at the State Duma.
OECD names Mexican as secretary-general
The OECD named Mexican former Foreign Minister Angel Gurria as its next secretary-general on Friday 25 November, after he received backing from a majority of the organization's 30 member countries.
UK to make statistics office independent
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said Monday 28 November that the Treasury intends to make the Office for National Statistics independent from the government.
Share price rise benefits BOJ
A surge in Japanese share prices has seen the Bank of Japan's holdings of shares in business firms increase to a record 1,132.3 billion yen as of Sept. 30.
Fed's Ferguson: Market stress may affect policy
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson said in a speech released on Monday 28 November that central banks may consider changing interest rates if financial stresses on markets or institutions put financial stability at risk.
OECD says ECB should leave rates 'unchanged'
The OECD joined in on the debate over an expected increase in eurozone interest rates, warning Tuesday 29 November that the cost of borrowing should be left "unchanged."
Comment: Euro adoption order changes
Slovakia's decision on Friday 25 November to join the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II) with immediate effect took markets by surprise. Policymakers had been saying they were aiming at mid-2006 for joining the ERM II, which serves as a crucial…
BoE's Large on liquidity risk in a global system
In the speech 'Financial Stability: Managing liquidity risk in a global system' given on 28 November Andrew Large of the Bank of England put the case for central banks and regulators in all jurisdictions to review the appropriateness of current liquidity…
Mboweni's financial & economic review of the year
In the speech 'A financial and economic review of the year' given on 24 November Tito Mboweni of the South African Reserve Bank said global oil prices and domestic demand still posed "significant risks" to South Africa's inflation outlook, but so far…
Rato on problems and issues in the global economy
In the speech 'Problems and issues in the global economy: A call for action' given on 22 November Rodrigo de Rato of the IMF said we need action on IMF governance.
Dodge on inflation targeting in Canada
In the speech 'Inflation targeting in Canada: Design, lessons, and challenges' given on 14 November David Dodge of the Bank of Canada said the bank is unlikely to change its practice of using the consumer price index as its target for monetary policy.
Sweden's Persson - speech on monetary policy
In the speech 'Monetary policy yesterday, today and tomorrow' given on 9 November Kristina Persson of the Sveriges Riksbank said the economic outlook in Sweden is favourable, but that she finds the international picture and its effects on Sweden worrying.
New York Fed to host regulation Seminar
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York will host a seminar to review Regulatory Reporting Best Practices as observed by Statistics Function staff on 12 January 2006.
Brown's gold sale losses pile up as price surges
According to this article published on Monday 28 November, the recent increase in the price of gold should be something of an embarrassment for UK Chancellor Gordon Brown with the Bank of England offloading 300 tonnes of gold at close to a 20-year low…
Eurogroup head criticises ECB rate rise plan
An interest rate increase by the European Central Bank is unnecessary, Jean-Claude Juncker, prime minister of Luxembourg said on Monday 28 November.
Inflation warning from Bank of France
The Bank of France said on Monday 28 November inflation risks in developed countries have increased because of high oil and commodity prices and could rise further.
Slovakia joins ERM-II
Slovakia has joined the Exchange Rate Mechanism 2 (ERM-II), the Hospodarske noviny daily wrote.
Russia says gold policy will change slowly
Russian central bank chairman Sergei Ignatyev said Friday 25 November that any change in the weighting of gold in its reserves would come in years rather than months.
UK's Brown says India, China to attend G7 meeting
China, India, Brazil and South Africa will attend part of the G7 finance ministers meeting this week, British finance minister Gordon Brown said on Monday 28 November.
Comment: Fierce criticism of the ECB
The European Central Bank's recent indication of its intent to raise interest rates has prompted a wave of fierce press criticism, and not only from within the eurozone.
The Bernanke Files
Since the White House announcement on 24 October, the Financial Markets Center has published a detailed package of four pieces on Ben Bernanke's nomination as Federal Reserve Chairman.
Richmond Fed directors re-appoint FAC member
G. Kennedy Thompson - chairman, president and CEO, Wachovia Corp., Charlotte, N.C. - was re-appointed on 18 November as the Fifth Federal Reserve District's representative on the Federal Advisory Council for 2006.
Uncertainty over second term for Serdengecti
Turkish economists are asking whether the government will give central bank governor Sureyya Serdengecti a second five-year term to avoid any turmoil in financial markets.
BoE's Barker on economic stability
In the speech 'Economic stability and the business climate' given on 24 November Kate Barker of the Bank of England said risks to the nation's economic growth are to the downside but the recent rise in inflation could still push up price expectations in…