Central Banking
Italian economy minister wants ECB rate cut
Italy's deputy economy minister Mario Baldassari said he favours the European Central Bank cutting its interest rates, as well as the euro being valued at parity with the dollar.
CITIC Securities to revamp China Securities
China's CITIC Securities Co confirmed media reports on Friday 12 August that it is teaming up with Jianyin Investment Ltd, an investment arm of the central bank, to restructure Beijing-based China Securities Co.
Bank of Mexico holds interest rates steady
Mexico's central bank held monetary policy steady on Friday 12 August saying after its twice-monthly policy meeting it was keeping its money market "short" steady at 79 million pesos a day.
Foreign central banks buying more US debt
Foreign central banks were big buyers of US debt in the latest week, swallowing up similar amounts of both Treasury and agency debt in what was the heaviest week of buying in 2-1/2 months, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday 11 August.
New spokesman for the New York Fed
Peter Bakstansky has been the spokesman for the New York Fed for so long - 30 years, to be precise - that his impending retirement will be hard to get accustomed to, at least for any journalist.
Comment: Faster growth to spur higher rates?
What does the recent spate of good news in terms of economic growth in most of the world's largest economies imply for interest rate and the bond market?
Prodi outlines Bank of Italy reform ideas
Italy's opposition leader Romano Prodi outlined a number of reform proposals for the beleaguered Bank of Italy on Friday 12 August and the country's other financial institutions.
Comment: China points way to wider reform
Robert Pringle, editor of Central Banking, explains why China's recent moves underline the need for a wider reform of world money (extracts from an interview with the German newspaper, Handelsblatt published on 11 August).
Bank of England needs to re-examine its forecasts
This article published on Wednesday 10 August says that the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is under great pressure to get its forecasts right. It asks whether it's possible we are too reverential when it comes to the Bank's projections.
Cultural days of the ECB 2005: Hungary
Hungary will be the country featured in this year's Cultural Days of the European Central Bank, which will be held from 2 to 28 November 2005 in cooperation with Magyar Nemzeti Bank, the central bank of Hungary, the ECB said on Thursday 11 August.
IMF letter on the famine in Niger
In a letter published by The Independent newspaper on Friday 5 August, the IMF's Director of External Relations, Thomas Dawson, defended the Fund against accusations that the IMF contributed to the crisis in Niger.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, August 2005
The European Central Bank published its August 2005 Monthly Bulletin on Thursday 11 August. The euro zone economy is on track for gradual expansion without pressing inflationary problems, the report said.
PBOC's Xiaoling on financial theoretic research
In a speech given on 3 June (published 10 August) Wu Xiaoling of the People's Bank of China said researchers need to be objective, independent and scrupulous with the research work and this will help promote China's economic and financial theoretic study.
Australian govt to quiz RBA chief on economy
Reserve Bank of Australia governor Ian Macfarlane will be grilled Friday 12 August on the chances of another rate rise, or possibly a rate cut, in coming months.
German finance minister calls for ECB rate cut
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Clement called on the European Central Bank to cut interest rates, saying it was "remarkably" more reserved than other central banks.
Taiwan central bank denies extraordinary meeting
The Central Bank of China, Taiwan's central bank, denied on Thursday 11 August that it is planning to call an extraordinary board meeting in the near term.
Philippines, EC sign anti-money laundering pact
The European Commission (EC) and the Philippines have signed a 73-million peso (1.33-million US dollars) financing agreement to assist with the country's anti-money laundering drive, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo has said.
Norway keeps interest rates unchanged at 2%
Norway's central bank held its key deposit rate steady at 2.0 percent on Thursday 11 August as was widely expected.
Fed raises rates, maintains measured stance
The Federal Open Market Committee decided on Tuesday 9 August to raise its target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 3-1/2 percent. The FOMC maintained its measured stance on monetary policy accommodation.
Shadow on the Euro
An article published this week notes that five months after central banks talked of increasing their euro reserves at the expense of the dollar, the speculation now is about how long the euro will last. With its credibility in danger the article asks…
Bank of England Inflation Report, August 2005
The Bank of England published its August 2005 Inflation Report on 10 August. In the report the Bank said the UK's growth outlook has weakened slightly in the near term, pulled down by sluggish consumer spending.
Growth dynamics: The myth of economic recovery
This IMF Working Paper published on Monday 8 August uses panel data for a large number of countries, and finds that economic contractions are not followed by offsetting fast recoveries.
IMF letter on prospects for ECB rate cut
In a letter published by the Financial Times on Tuesday 9 August, Michael Deppler of the IMF said international developments suggest that the worst may be over on growth in the eurozone but point to further upward pressure on headline inflation because…
China reveals details of yuan basket
China announced major currency market reforms on Wednesday 8 August and also published details of the basket of currencies to which the bank refers in managing the float of the yuan.