Central Banking
FATF welcomes China as an observer
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), meeting in Paris from 9 to 11 February 2005, has welcomed for the first time the People's Republic of China to attend its Plenary meeting as an observer.
Sweden's Nyberg on household debt burden
Speaking at a breakfast meeting in Malmo on Friday 11 February Sveriges Riksbank Deputy Governor Lars Nyberg said households currently have on average debts amounting to 125 per cent of their annual income, which is almost as much as the figure…
BoE cancels 2005 governors' symposium
The Bank of England has cancelled its 2005 governors' symposium due to the UK's overcrowded international schedule. Mario Blejer, head of the Bank's centre for Central Banking Studies, wrote to central bank governors recently to tell them the news.
Minutes from the Sveriges Riksbank Meeting, 27 Jan
Minutes from the Sveriges Riksbank Executive Board meeting on 27 January revealed that the forecast for growth in Sweden and abroad over the coming years remained largely unchanged and inflation was expected to increase during the course of 2006.
Bank of England's Chief Cashier John Page dies
John Page, who was the last person to hold the post of Chief Casher of the Bank of England before the position was downgraded in the 1980s, died on 2 February aged 81.
Czech president appoints new CNB board members
The President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, at Prague Castle on Friday 11 February appointed three new members to the Bank Board of the Czech National Bank. He also said Zdenik Tma will remain CNB Governor for a further six-year term.
Inflation targeting comes under fire
The theory of central bank inflation targeting has been ripped up by Harvard economist Benjamin Friedman. Speaking at the Reserve Bank of India he said inflation targeting hides other goals and impedes transparency.
IMF's Rato calls on ECB not to raise rates
International Monetary Fund managing director Rodrigo Rato asked the European Central Bank in an interview published on Friday 11 February not to raise eurozone interest rates.
Core inflation low, US economy good says Stern
Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Gary Stern provided an upbeat assessment of the US economy in a speech on Thursday 10 February, saying core inflation remains low and that the economy should grow at a 3.5 per cent to 4.0 per cent range.
Philippines removed from money laundering list
The Philippines has been removed from a list of money laundering havens held by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF,) central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura said on Friday 11 February.
Tanigaki urges BOJ to keep injecting liquidity
Japan's Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki expressed a cautious position on the chances of the Bank of Japan lowering its current account balance target from the present level, and called on the central bank to keep injecting ample liquidity.
Fed officials don't see China dropping peg soon
According to this article published Friday 11 February, Federal Reserve officials aren't optimistic that China will drop its currency peg against the dollar anytime soon with the decision in the hands of the State Council.
Eurosystem and Mediterranean central banks seminar
The second Euro-Mediterranean seminar, which brings together Eurosystem and Mediterranean central banks, was jointly organised by the Banque de France and the European Central Bank (ECB) and held in Cannes on 8 and 9 February 2005.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, February 2005
The European Central Bank published its February 2005 Monthly Bulletin on Thursday saying recent data on economic activity suggest ongoing moderate growth in the fourth quarter of 2004 and a broadly unchanged situation around the new year.
Treasury papers reveal Black Wednesday losses
UK Treasury papers released on Wednesday showed that the cost of intervention in the currency market during the period before Britain's "Black Wednesday" exit from the Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992 were £3.3bn, according to the Treasury's estimates in…
Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves increase
Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves totalled US$242.7 billion at the end of January, up US$1 billion from a month earlier, according to the latest statistics released by the Central Bank of China (CBC).
Bank Negara's reserves reach new high
Bank Negara Malaysia's foreign reserves reached a new high of RM264.66 billion (US$69.64 million) in the second half of January, due partly to larger inflow of portfolio funds.
Issing: Asset price rises can harm price stability
The chief economist at the European Central Bank, Otmar Issing, warned in a column on Thursday that a bubble in asset prices could pose risks to overall price stability.
Bank of Spain to implement business process system
TIBCO Software Inc. announced Thursday that the Central Bank of Spain, Banco de Espana, has chosen TIBCO to serve as its core provider for the automation of its business processes.
Zambia withdraws fading plastic bank notes
Zambia's central bank told commercial banks and financial institutions on Wednesday to withdraw from circulation plastic bank notes printed in 2003 because they are fading.
San Francisco Fed's Bretton Woods conference
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco held a conference "Revived Bretton Woods System: A new paradigm for Asian development" on 4 February. Papers presented included Barry Eichengreen's "Global imbalances and the lessons of Bretton Woods".
Fed's increase is case of perfect transparency
The FOMC's recent action to raise interest rates had been fully anticipated with not a single point move on the yield curve, from two years to 10 years. This article describes the move as a case of perfect transparency.
Inflation differentials among euro area countries
In a paper presented at the joint American Economic Association session 'The Theory of Optimum Currency Areas Revisited' Hermann Remsperger of the Deutsche Bundesbank reviews the development, potential causes and macroeconomic implications of inflation…
Paper on optimal central bank independence
This Working Paper from Vanderbilt University formulates the problem of monetary policy delegation as a two-stage non-cooperative game between the government and the central bank.