Central Banking
EU Finance Ministers try to bolster euro
European Union finance ministers on Tuesday 7 June attended a summit in Luxembourg and admitted the continuing fallout from the crisis surrounding the rejection of the EU's constitution had an economic impact.
Croatia battles pressure on euro-peg
The governor of Croatia's central bank was reported as saying the kuna faces growing market pressure to slip out of its managed peg to the euro.
Canada's Dodge on monetary policy & exchange rates
In the speech 'Monetary policy and the exchange rate in Canada' given on 2 June David Dodge of the Bank of Canada said Canada's success with a floating currency could be a good model for China to consider.
Bergstrom on Sweden's low inflation rate
In the speech 'Is the present low inflation rate a problem?' given on 30 May Villy Bergstrom of the Sveriges Riksbank said underlying factors still indicate a rise in resource utilisation and thereby a rise in inflation.
ECB's Papademos on the reformed stability pact
In the speech 'The political economy of the reformed Stability and Growth Pact: implications for fiscal and monetary policy' given on 3 June, Lucas Papademos of the ECB said the relaxation of the EU stability pact's rules could affect ECB interest rate…
Richmond Fed's Economic Quarterly, Spring 2005
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has published its Economic Quarterly for Spring 2005. The latest issue includes the article 'What difference would an inflation target make?'
Norges Bank Financial Stability Report No.1, 2005
The central bank of Norway, Norges Bank, has published its twice yearly Financial Stability Report 1/2005. "The short-term outlook for financial stability is regarded as satisfactory and is approximately unchanged since the previous Financial Stability…
Fed's Olson says loan standards easing
In a speech given on Friday 3 June Mark Olson of the Federal Reserve said some underwriting standards held by U.S. community banks for commercial real estate lending have been "under assault" by competitive pressure to win borrowers.
ECB's Noyer rejects euro ditching talk
European Central Bank Governing Council Member Christian Noyer has dismissed talk suggesting countries may leave the euro and said the rejection of the European Union's constitution by two of its founding members did not threaten the single currency.
IMF's Rato says don't rule out ECB rate cut
The head of the International Monetary Fund has said a rate cut in the Eurozone cannot be ruled out if the EU economy weakens.
Russia 'won't react to rumours' over euro
A senior Russian central bank official said on Monday 6 June that reports Italy and Germany could drop the euro were "just rumours," and said Russia has no intention of changing its reserves structure.
Bahrain hosts Islamic banking supervision course
The Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) and the Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance (BIBF) is currently holding a five-day course on Islamic banking supervision.
IADB president announces his resignation
The president of the Inter-American Development Bank, Enrique V. Iglesias, on Tuesday 31 May informed the IDB Board of Executive Directors that he is resigning his post, effective September 30, 2005.
IMF's Rato pays tribute to James Wolfensohn
Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued a statement on Tuesday 31 Maypaying tribute to James D. Wolfensohn, the outgoing President of the World Bank.
Optimist joins ECB in gloomy times
This article profiles Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, who joined the European Central Bank's executive board on 1 June. All indications suggest that Bini Smaghi, far from rocking the boat, is firmly on board with the ECB's current approach to monetary policy, it…
You wanna be a central banker? Think again
Following the events in Thailand, this article published Friday 3 June suggests central bank governors around the world probably aren't sleeping well this week. What if this short-sighted, punish-the-central-banker mindset spread to other realms, it asks.
Ex-Thai central bank chief ordered to repay $4.6bn
The former governor of Thailand's central bank, Rerngchai Marakanond, was ordered on Tuesday 2 June to pay back the Bt186bn (US$4.57bn) spent in the futile defence of the currency on the eve of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Canada's Dodge on international economics
In the speech 'Reflections on the international economic and monetary order' given on 30 May David Dodge of the Bank of Canada warned China and other Asian nations that unless they let their currencies rise, they risk retaliation from the United States…
Sweden's Bergstrom on monetary policy
In the speech given on 26 May Villy Bergstrom of the Sveriges Riksbank said that given the economic situation, employment has shown unusually weak growth and unemployment is at a relatively high level, by Swedish standards.
Bundesbank's Remsperger on macroeconomic risks
In the speech 'Macroeconomic risk and policy responses' given on 27 May Hermann Remsperger of the Deutsche Bundesbank said few central bankers would dispute the need to firmly anchor long-run inflation expectations at a low level. However, there may be…
Issing on the monetary pillar of the ECB
In the speech 'The monetary pillar of the ECB' given on 3 June Otmar Issing of the ECB said the ECB's monetary policy has been an undisputed success since the launch of the euro in 1999.
Turkmen central bank chief fired for embezzlement
Shekersoltan Muhammedova, the acting governor of Turkmenistan's central bank, was sacked this week for "grave shortcomings and embezzlement of state funds," according to the BBC Monitoring Service which quoted the translation of a report on Turkmen TV…
Are emerging market countries learning to float?
The IMF Working Paper "Are emerging market countries learning to float?" published 1 June finds that exchange rate flexibility in emerging market countries has increased over the past decade.
Italian minister suggests return to lira
An Italian government minister has suggested the country should consider bringing back the euro.