Central Banking
Bank of Italy rejects criticism in bank takeover
The Bank of Italy launched a counter-attack on Wednesday 4 May against EU regulators, analysts and press reports that claim the Italian central bank and its governor, Antonio Fazio, have favoured Banca Popolare di Lodi in a banking takeover.
ECB rate cut still not an option says Trichet
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet ruled out a cut in ECB interest rates on Wednesday 4 May in response to the recent slowdown in euro zone growth. Trichet was speaking at the ECB's press conference after euro zone interest rates were…
Danmarks Nationalbank, Monetary Review 1st Q 2005
The Danmarks Nationalbank's Monetary Review for the First Quarter 2005 includes the articles: Risks on settlement of large payments, The 10-year yield spread between Denmark and Germany, Relations between stock prices and bond yields and Hedge funds in…
Norges Bank, Economic Bulletin, April 2005
Norges Bank, the central bank of Norway, has published its April 2005 Economic Bulletin. The Bulletin includes the address "Economic perspectives" by Governor Svein Gjedrem, and the articles "Evaluation of Norges Bank's projections for 2004", "What…
New book challenges role of the Bank of Japan
A new controversial theory that could transform the world of economics has been drawn up by a University of Southampton academic in a book described by Professor Charles Goodhart as "both a powerful and important book".
IMF paper on central bank transparency
The IMF Working Paper "Transparency in central bank financial statement disclosures" looks at the disclosure requirements for central banks under International Financial Reporting Standards and provides practical guidance for those responsible for…
Cyprus, Malta, Latvia included in the ERM II
At request, the ministers of the euro area Member States of the European Union, the President of the ECB and the ministers and the central bank governors of Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia and the relevant central bank decided to include the Cyprus…
RBNZ reinforces last week's statement
Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor Alan Bollard on Tuesday 3 May reinforced his statement of 28 April that economic data suggests that underlying demand and inflation pressures remain strong and that, in this environment, further policy tightening…
Fed expected to raise rates again
Faced with conflicting forces, the Federal Reserve was expected to increase interest rates by a moderate quarter-point at the conclusion of its FOMC meeting on Tuesday, the eighth such increase since last June.
Rato says 'premature' to rule out ECB rate cut
International Monetary Fund managing director Rodrigo Rato said it would be "premature" to exclude interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank while the eurozone economy remains in "a soft patch".
ADB: Malaysian ringgit peg reform long overdue
The Asian Development Bank's top economist said on Tuesday 3 May that it is time for Malaysia to relax its currency peg and strong economic fundamentals will allow the country to adopt a more flexible exchange rate fairly smoothly.
OECD chief says dollar fall is no shock
OECD Secretary General Donald Johnston said on Monday 2 May there was no reason to be shocked by the fall of the dollar against the euro and that developed countries had failed to prepare for a surge in Chinese textile exports.
IMF appoints new director of evaluation office
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund has offered Thomas Bernes of Canada the position of Director of the IMF's Independent Evaluation Office, and he has accepted the Board's offer, the IMF said on Monday 25 April.
Bank of PNG appoints deputy governor
The Bank of Papua New Guinea recently announced the appointment of Mr Loi Martin Bakani to the position of Deputy Governor Policy and Regulations. His term is for five years.
HKMA appoints deputy chief executive
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced on Tuesday 26 April that the Financial Secretary has approved the appointment of Mr Y. K. Choi as Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA. Two other appointments were also made, which will all take effect on 1 June.
Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report, March 2005
The Deutsche Bundesbank has published the English version of its March 2005 Monthly Report. Real GDP in the fourth quarter of 2004 was down 0.2% on the figure for the preceding three-months.
Sveriges Riksbank Economic Review 1st Quarter 2005
The Sveriges Riksbank has published its Economic Review for the 1st Quarter 2005. This year's first issue contains four articles: on the relationship between monetary policy and employment, on the inflation target, on the upswing in productivity growth…
Sweden leaves repo rate unchanged at 2 per cent
At its meeting on 28 April, the Executive Board of the Sveriges Riksbank decided to leave the repo rate unchanged at 2 per cent. Inflation, measured in terms of UND1X, is expected to be in line with the Riksbank's target a couple of years ahead, the bank…
Denmark's Andersen on the global economy
In a speech given on 28 April, Bodil Nyboe Andersen of Danmarks Nationalbank said the global economy is generally in a period of strong growth - at a rate of 5.1 per cent in 2004. However, this may not completely match the picture painted by the media.
Greenspan misses the point about yuan
This article looks at Alan Greenspan's recent comment on China that "They're going to have to, for stability's purposes, move their currency." In theory, Greenspan is right about the central bank "finding some difficulty" in selling debt. However, the…
Interview with Bank Indonesia's deputy governor
In an interview published this week, Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor Miranda Gultom said the central bank is preparing to introduce new money-market instruments to address the alarming sag in the local currency and perceived shortcomings of present…
What has Trichet achieved as the ECB's President?
Jean-Claude Trichet has now been president of the ECB for eighteen months, and if you measure his performance by the narrow mandate of price stability, then he has done his job, this article says. Yet if you were to gauge his performance by a wider…
No plan for imminent yuan reform says PBOC
China has no plans to revalue its currency, the yuan, during next week's Labour Day holiday, a People's Bank of China spokesman was quoted as saying on Friday 29 April, quashing rumours that such a change was imminent.
Report says Fed likely to hike rates again
The U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to raise the target for its key short-term interest rate to 3 percent from 2.75 percent when its rate-setting committee meets on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal said on Friday 29 April.