Central Banking
Minutes from the Sveriges Riksbank Meeting, 19 Aug
Minutes of the Sveriges Riksbank Executive Board meeting on 19 August were published 2 September. One member observed that economic activity in Sweden had strengthened slightly more than expected during the first six months of the year, and that the…
Tumpel-Gugerell on the Single Euro Payments Area
In the speech 'Time to act: clear objectives and a convincing roadmap for the Single Euro Payments Area' given on 6 September, Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell of the ECB said to achieve the Single Euro Payments Area, it's best for the European Payments Council…
Norway's Gjedrem on monetary policy and the krone
In a speech on 'Monetary policy and the krone exchange rate' given on 26 Augus,t Svein Gjedrem of Norges Bank said growth in the Norwegian economy is projected to pick up markedly this year and remain relatively high next year.
Malaysia's Zeti on Islamic banking & finance
In a speech on 'Current issues and developments in Islamic banking and finance' given on 25 August, Zeti Akhtar Aziz of the Central Bank of Malaysia said that to harness the full potential of the Islamic financial system, genuine endeavours to strengthen…
Almunia not expecting ECB objection to Pact change
EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Joaquin Almunia has said the European Central Bank is not expected to oppose possible changes to the stability and growth pact.
EU budget plans would hurt ECB policy, says Buba
The Bundesbank said that the European Commission's intention to relax budget rules would damage the European Central Bank's ability to set interest rates in the eurozone, according to Bloomberg, which quoted an email.
France's Raffarin sees 2.5 % GDP growth in 2004
French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said he expects GDP growth of 2.5 per cent in 2004 and said that economic growth is sustainable.
IMF says flexible exchange rate best measure
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has identified the free-floating exchange rate regime as the best measure against economic shock, according to a new study.
China plans gold futures trading
China aims to start gold futures trading in the near term, a move meant to add to the country's limited investment options amid soaring demand for the precious metal, state press reported on Tuesday 7 September.
PBOC's Tinghuan on China's real estate finance
In a speech on 'China's real estate finance and policy implications' given on 26 June. Liu Tinghuan of the People's Bank of China said China is in the historical stage of new industrialization, urbanization and building a moderately affluent society in…
Plenderleith: Something normal from South Africa
In the speech 'Always something normal from South Africa' given on 17 August Ian Plenderleith of the South African Reserve Bank said we can, and will, continue gradually to build up our official foreign exchange reserves to a respectable level in an…
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, July 2004
The Chicago Fed National Activity index rose to +0.35 in July from a downward-revised reading of -0.19 the previous month. Most of the increase in July's CFNAI resulted from a big swing in the contribution from production-related indicators, from -0.25…
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Sep/Oct 2004
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for September-October 2004 includes the articles "Trends in the efficiency of Federal Reserve check processing operations" and "Testing the expectations hypothesis: Some new evidence for Japan" and …
US bank note experts to visit Taiwan
The Central Bank of China (CBC) has invited experts from the United States to help domestic banks dealing in foreign currency exchange to detect forged U.S. bills, CBC officials said on Monday 6 September.
Too soon to evaluate long term rate falls,Takenaka
Japanese Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Heizo Takenaka said it is too soon to form any opinions about the meaning of the recent decline in long-term domestic interest rates.
World Bank sees oil price affecting growth
High oil prices threaten to slow the world economic growth rate by up to 0.2 percent, World Bank chief economist Francois Bourguignon has said.
ASEAN must be open to global economy: Megawati
Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri said in Jakarta on Friday 3 September that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must remain open to the global economy.
West African central bank to withdraw CFA notes
The Central Bank of West African States said it was to withdraw all CFA franc banknotes from circulation by the end of the year, in what a report said Saturday was an attempt to crack down on "dirty" money from bank robberies.
Reserve Bank of Australia - Annual Report 2004
The Reserve Bank of Australia has published its Annual Report for 2004. After a temporary weak spot in the middle of 2003, the world economic recovery resumed in 2003/04. In Australia it was a year of good growth and low inflation as we completed the…
Canada's Longworth on monetary policy, uncertainty
In a speech on 'Monetary Policy and Uncertainty' given on 23 August, David Longworth of the Bank of Canada discusses various types of uncertainty and how the Bank of Canada deals with them in conducting monetary policy.
IMF's Rato to visit South Africa and Burkina Faso
Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, will travel to Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa on September 6-7, and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, September 8-9. This is Mr. de Rato's second trip to Africa since becoming…
Bank of Canada Review, Summer 2004
The Bank of Canada has published its Review for Summer 2004. The Review contains four articles including "The Canadian Experience with Counterfeiting" which proposes a composite method of detecting counterfeits as an effective alternative to existing…
BOJ increases share buying in late August
The Bank of Japan reported on Thursday 2 September that it had purchased a cumulative 1.988 trillion yen ($18.2 bn) of shares by August 31, a slight increase from the 1.985 trillion it had held by August 20.
EU set to relax eurozone budget rules
The European Union was set to propose loosening its much-criticised budget rules supporting the euro on Friday 3 September, by allowing countries with economic troubles to be exempt from the uniform standard for deficits in favour of country specific…