Central Banking
Kyrgyzstan's central bank chief under house arrest
The governor of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, Ulan Sarbanov, has been placed under house arrest, accused of abuse of power during the rule of deposed president Askar Akayev.
SNB's Hildebrand says rate hikes may be needed
Swiss National Bank board member Philipp Hildebrand said it may be necessary to increase interest rates further if it becomes clear that a 'sustainable improvement of economic prospects' is occurring.
Central banker says China won't revalue yuan again
People's Bank of China deputy governor Ma Delun said the country won't revalue the yuan again after scrapping its peg to the dollar and will buy and sell currencies to prevent "excessive" movements in the exchange rate.
ECB's Trichet sees need for Asian FX rise
European Central Bank President Jean Claude Trichet said on Friday 9 September that in order for the global economy to work better a further appreciation of Asian currencies is needed.
ADB predicts higher GDP growth for China, India
The Asian Development Bank published a report Thursday 8 September forecasting higher GDP growth for China and India, but expressing concerns for Asian countries of higher oil prices.
Snow sees % GDP impact from Hurricane
U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow told Bloomberg Television on Friday 9 September that U.S. economic growth would probably dip by closer to 1/2 percentage point in the second half of 2004 because of the Hurricane Katrina.
Berlusconi says government can't force Fazio out
Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said Friday 9 September the government can not force Bank of Italy governor Antonio Fazio to resign and only the European Central Bank can intervene.
Comment: Time for central banks to modernise
During the last 20 years, most central banks have been given much more policy autonomy and independence. Along with this have come pressures for more accountability and transparency. This is entirely appropriate as independence and accountability should…
Asia can fight speculators without its own IMF
The Indonesian authorities plan to seek $6 billion in standby funds from Japan to bolster the country's depleting foreign reserves has seen the Indonesian currency slump to a four-year low, this article published on Tuesday 6 September reports.
SARB's Mboweni on the Annual Economic Report 2005
The South African Reserve Bank published its Annual Economic Report 2005 on 24 August. In his address to the shareholders of the Bank, Tito Mboweni said he was pleased to be able to report on another successful year for the South African Reserve Bank…
BIS's Knight on challenges to financial stability
In the speech 'Challenges to financial stability in the current global macroeconomic environment' given on 6 September, Malcolm Knight of the BIS said the global financial system of today is vastly more efficient and resilient to small or moderate shocks…
Chicago's Moskow on the U.S. economic outlook
In the speech 'U.S. economic outlook' given on 7 September Michael Moskow of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said the Federal Reserve will face "a number of judgment calls" in assessing the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the U.S. economy.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, September 2005
The European Central Bank published its September 2005 Monthly Bulletin on Thursday 8 September. The ECB said it needs to exercise 'particular vigilance' on risks to eurozone inflation following the recent increase in oil prices.
Italy's Fazio to miss EU talks on Friday
The Bank of Italy said on Thursday 8 September that its governor Antonio Fazio will not attend the European finance meeting in England which begins on Friday.
Report says Fed rate pause 'not ruled out'
Federal Reserve officials say they are watching to see how financial markets and the economy react to the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina before deciding on what action to take at their policy-setting meeting on Sept. 20, the Wall Street Journal…
Uganda upgrades foreign reserve management
The Bank of Uganda (BOU) plans to upgrade its foreign reserve management operations by installing a software system worth one million US dollars.
BOK will 'seriously' consider rate hike next month
Bank of Korea governor Park Seung said the central bank may raise its benchmark interest rate as early as next month as it needs to act before a full economic recovery.
BOJ's Fukui says economy on track
The governor of the Bank of Japan, Toshihiko Fukui, said Thursday 8 September that the economy is moving towards achieving sustained economic growth.
Comment: Smaghi calls for fiscal synchronisation
Writing in the Financial Times on September 8, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, a member of the ECB's executive board, called on member states to improve the synchronisation of the their budgets in order to strengthen the economic governance of the Euro area.
India's Udeshi on financial system stability
In the speech 'Financial system stability and Basel II -Way forward' given on 26 August Kishori Udeshi of the RBI said the RBI is making efforts to formulate policies to deal with risks arising on account of operations of large and complex financial…
U.K. interest rates are heading for a decline
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee will decide on UK interest rates this Thursday. This article published on Wednesday 7 September suggests there will no surprise when the MPC leaves interest rates unchanged at 4.5 per cent, but rates are…
Bank of Italy's Fazio defies mounting calls to go
Antonio Fazio continues to defy calls for his resignation from the Bank of Italy. This article published on Tuesday 6 September says the face-off between Fazio and a growing number of government ministers threatens a prolonged institutional crisis in a…
Bank of Canada raises interest rates by 0.25%
The Bank of Canada announced on Wednesday 7 September that it is raising its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 2 3/4 per cent.
IMF warns central banks on oil prices
The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned central banks of the second round effects of high oil prices.