Central Banking
Ex-Fed's Wyss says Asia should diversify reserves
Asian central banks need to diversify their foreign reserves but in doing so, they should allow the local currencies to appreciate against the dollar, a former US presidential economic adviser and Federal Reserve governor said on Thursday 3 March.
BOJ's Iwata: Deflation end needs 'one more stroke'
Kazumasa Iwata, one of the Bank of Japan's two deputy governors, said on Friday 4 March that the Japanese economy needs to improve by "one more stroke" to overcome deflation of almost seven years.
Italy's Fazio on Franco Modigliani
In a speech given on 18 February, Antonio Fazio of the Bank of Italy said the global system is a sort of free-banking regime without an anchor.
Phil Fed's Santomero: lessons from business cycle
In a speech on 'Lessons learned from the recent business cycle' given on 1 March, Anthony Santomero of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said the US economy is on track for moderate sustainable growth with relatively stable prices, but declining…
Chicago Fed's Moskow on the US labor market
In a speech on 'Job Loss: Causes, consequences, and policy responses' given on 1 March, Michael Moskow of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said at the moment, wage pressures within the US labor market are behaving as expected.
RBA's Lowe on reform of the payments system
In a speech on 'Reform of the payments system' given on 2 March, Philip Lowe of the Reserve Bank of Australia said the reform process has been going on for a number of years and we are not yet at the end of the road.
Greenspan promotes consumption tax idea
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in testimony on Thursday 3 March that some form of a consumption tax - such as a national sales tax - could spur greater economic growth but stressed a move to such a system would pose considerable problems.
ECB cuts eurozone growth forecast
The ECB on Thursday 3 March lowered its forecasts for growth of the eurozone economy this year and next . At a press conference Jean-Claude Trichet also criticised the recent decision by the Ecofin council of European finance ministers to give Greece…
Bank of Italy escapes supervisory power limit
Italy's lower house of Parliament voted on Wednesday 2 March not to remove the Bank of Italy's authority over competition and mergers in the banking sector.
China spends US$195b maintaining yuan peg
The People's Bank of China spent 1.61 trillion yuan (US$195 billion) buying foreign currency last year to maintain the yuan's peg with the dollar, a rise of 40 per cent over 2003.
BSP's Buenaventura on cornerstones of excellence
In the speech 'Strengthening the cornerstones of excellence' given on 10 January (published 25 Feb), Rafael Buenaventura of the Central Bank of the Philippines said when he turns over the reigns of leading the central bank in July this year, he is…
Asian central bankers affecting markets
The dollar's nearlythree-year decline has led many central banks to consider diversifying into other types of money, especially in the face of a more valuable euro. According to this article, the reaction to recent comments from South Korea serves as a…
RTGS & hybrid payment systems: a comparison
This Bank of England Working Paper published on Tuesday 1 March contrasts Real-Time Gross Settlement and hybrid payment systems that are based on payment offset, using a two-period, multi-bank model. It finds that hybrid payment systems outperform RTGS…
Greenspan stresses need for spending cuts
Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said on Wednesday 2 March that the US economy is growing at a reasonably good pace but the country must tackle its "unsustainable" budget deficits, primarily through spending cuts.
20 years of a floating New Zealand dollar
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand noted on Wednesday 2 March that this week marks the 20-year anniversary of the float of the New Zealand dollar. The bank said that the floating exchange rate regime has weathered several business cycles and plenty of …
Australia raises rates citing inflation pressures
The Reserve Bank of Australia announced on Wednesday 2 March that it was increasing interest rates by 25 basis points, to 5.5 per cent. It was the first shift in monetary policy by the RBA since December 2003.
Richmond Fed's Lacker on inflation targeting
In a speech on 'Inflation targeting and the conduct of monetary policy' given on 1 March, Jeffrey Lacker of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said the Federal Reserve should adopt a target for US inflation, in part to keep concerns about price…
Publication of papers from ECB workshop
On 13 and 14 December 2004 the Directorate General Economics in co-operation with the Directorate General Research of the European Central Bank (ECB) held a workshop on "Monetary policy implications of heterogeneity in a currency area". The ECB published…
Zimbabwe plans new currency next year
Zimbabwe will introduce a new currency next year, phasing out bank notes introduced two years ago as a stop-gap measure to ease critical cash shortages across the country, a government daily reported on Wednesday.
EU's Almunia confident on stability pact deal soon
The European Union commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, Joaquin Almunia, said on Wednesday 2 March that he was confident agreement would be reached "soon" on the Stability and Growth Pact.
ECB's Trichet on mon. policy stability
In a speech on 'Monetary policy and private expectations' given on 25 February, Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said a renewed fellowship between the academic community, the markets and central banks has allowed central banks to effectively deliver the…
Museum of Australian currency notes
The Reserve Bank of Australia has opened from 1 March a Museum of Australian Currency Notes on the ground floor of its Head Office in Sydney.
Should the euro be the reserve currency?
In this article published on Sunday 27 February, Roger Bootle says that although South Korea denied speculation it is considering switching some of its reserves out of dollars and into euros, it would be startling if South Korea, and other countries,…
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Mar/Apr 2005
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for March-April 2005 includes the article "Communication, transparency, accountability: Monetary policy in the twenty-first century" by Otmar Issing. The issue also includes a paper by Ellen Meade titled …