Central Banking
Germany's Eichel : no more budget cuts yet
German Finance Minister Hans Eichel said on Sunday 8 August that the economic recovery was not yet firmly established enough for him to impose more budget cuts, and that he would make added savings only when growth was more sustained.
Chinese regulators tackle illegal capital flight
China's financial and securities watchdogs have launched a crackdown on the illegal flight of capital via offshore financing centers such as the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, state press reported.
Reddy says RBI caught unawares on inflation
The Reserve Bank of India governor YV Reddy admitted that the July inflation rate, which touched a three-year high of 7.51% in end-July, was higher than what the monetary policy in May '04 had visualised.
BOT says new rules must apply to all
A senior official at the Bank of Thailand (BOT) said on Monday the central bank would scrutinise the bad-loan situation at other banks and would not change the criteria of the probes.
Belgium may scrap small euro coins
Reports on Thursday said the Belgian government had agreed in principle with banks, business and consumer groups to scrap one and two euro coins.
Romania cuts interest rates 75 points
The Romanian central bank cut key interest rates by 75 basis points Friday to 19.25 percent, the central bank said.
Danmarks Nationalbank re-appointment
Following maternity leave, Pernille Blach Hansen, MP, has been re-elected to the Committee of Directors of Danmarks Nationalbank, and Pia Gjellerup, MP, who replaced Ms. Hansen on the Committee of Directors has withdrawn, Danmarks Nationalbank said in a…
RBNZ appoints Spencer assistant governor
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced on 4 August the appointment of Grant Spencer as Assistant Governor/Head of Economics.
PBOC appoints assistants to the governor
The People's Bank of China has appointed three assistants to the governor in what is seen as a final stroke to the planned management overhaul after Zhou Xiaochuan took the helm at the central bank at the end of 2002, the 21st Century Business Herald…
Bangladesh Bank hires modernisation consultant
Bangladesh Bank will hire a consultant on a two-year contract under a central bank strengthening project, funded mostly by World Bank credit, Matamat reported quoting official sources.
Bomb threat forces People's Bank to evacuate HQ
The headquarters of the People's Bank of China was evacuated after a man threatened to blow up the building, a senior official of the central bank said this week, according to AFP.
New South Korean regulator named
Roh Moo-hyun, South Korea's president, named Yoon Jeung-hyun, a director of the Asian Development Bank, as the new head of the country's top financial regulator this week.
Brazil's Meirelles denies fresh allegations
Brazil's central bank chief Henrique Meirelles on Thursday 5 August denied he evaded taxes after new allegations he failed to declare all his assets to Brazilian tax authorities. The leader of the main opposition party called on Mr Meirelles to resign…
How did the Fed respond to the stock market?
The appropriate role for equity prices in monetary policy deliberations has been hotly debated for some time. In this Discussion Paper from the Boston Fed the authors show that after controlling for the information that actually enters the FOMC's…
Annual meetings of IMF and World Bank, 2-3 October
The Executive Boards of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group have decided that the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors, along with related meetings and events, will take place in Washington, D.C. on October 2-3, 2004.
CNB's Racocha on payments systems
In the speech 'Payments systems and financial stability' given on 8 July Pavel Racocha of the Czech National Bank said the main and most real challenge connected with the payment system in the Czech Republic is EU accession. Legal changes have already…
RBNZ's Bollard defends rate rises
The governor of New Zealand's central bank, Alan Bollard, has defended lifting interest rates to the highest level in the developed world, citing pervasive capacity constraints and inflation pressures.
Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report, July 2004
The Deutsche Bundesbank published the English version of its July 2004 monthly report on 5 August. June saw a slowdown in the rise in consumer prices, with the general price level falling slightly in seasonally adjusted terms.
South African Reserve Bank - Annual Report 2004
The South African Reserve Bank published its Annual Report for the year ended 2004 on 2 August. The SARB achieved success on many fronts during the past year. By far the most important achievement was the downward movement in the rate of inflation to…
Bank of England lifts rates to 4.75%, ECB holds
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted to raise the Bank's repo rate by 0.25 percentage points on Thursday 5 August. The Bank said that its decision reflected continued strong growth which is likely to lead to rising inflationary pressures…
Implementing Basel II in non-Basel member states
This fourth FSI Occasional Paper summarises the results of a Basel II Implementation Assistance Questionnaire for selected non-Basel Committee member countries. The paper presents the responses to the Questionnaire from a global perspective, highlighting…
National Bank of Austria - Annual Report 2003
The National Bank of Austria has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. In 2003 Austria slightly outperformed its main trading partners and the euro area as a whole, which was attributable, among other things, to the economic stimulus and…
Rato promises more effective IMF
Rodrigo Rato on Wednesday 4 August promised changes at the International Monetary Fund that would ensure its assistance to Africa was more effective and debt relief more readily available.
Japan report solid economic recovery, warns on oil
"The economy is recovering at a solid pace as improvements in the corporate sector are extending into the household sector," the Cabinet Office said in a monthly economic report on Thursday 5 August.