Central Banking
Dallas Fed's McTeer on transparency
In a speech given on 13 July Bob McTeer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said that Europe seems to be doing better economically, but what it greatly needs are economic reforms - especially labour market reforms-to give them good job growth.
Bank of Thailand - Annual Report 2003
The Bank of Thailand has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. The Thai economy expanded well in 2003, growing by 6.7 percent which was higher than that of 5.4 percent in 2002. The main impetus to growth came from the continued increases…
Joint Forum: Outsourcing in Financial Services
The Joint Forum released a report entitled Outsourcing in Financial Services for consultation on 2 August. The report examines the growth in outsourcing in the financial sector and the trends that have accompanied this growth.
Australian PM says no case for rate rise
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said that there is no case for an interest rate rise. The Reserve Bank of Australia was due to hold a Board Meeting on 3 August, with most analysts expecting interest rates to remain unchanged.
Century-old vault to be opened to Japan's public
The Bank of Japan will open its oldest underground vault to the public for the first time on 3 August at its headquarters in Tokyo.
Hungary holds key interest rates steady
The National Bank of Hungary left its key interest rates unchanged at 11.5 per cent on Monday.
Snow reassures after IMF, World Bank terror threat
US Treasury Secretary John Snow sought to calm nerves on Monday 2 August following newly disclosed terror threats against the U.S. financial institutions including the IMF and World Bank in Washington.
Brazil's Candiota resigns, Meirelles to stay on
Luiz Candiota resigned as director of monetary policy at the Central Bank of Brazil on Wednesday 28 July following allegations in the press of tax evasion. Central bank president Henrique Meirelles has also denied allegations that he avoided paying taxes…
Miner and central bank to share giant diamond
The young miner in the West African state of Guinea who, as we reported last week, found a near-flawless 182 carat diamond will share the value of the sparkler 50/50 with the central bank of Guinea.
Goeltom new Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor
In a ceremony at the Bank Indonesia Head Office in Jakarta this week, the Governor of Bank Indonesia Burhanuddin Abdullah presided over the formal handover of the position of Senior Deputy Governor Anwar Nasution to Miranda Swaray Goeltom.
Kenya cb suspends eight over missing notes
Eight members of staff at the central bank of Kenya (CBK), including two departmental heads, are under suspension after at least Sh10 million to-be-discarded notes were believed to have escaped the incinerator, The Nation in Nairobi reported this week.
Report says Mauritania's central bank chief sacked
A report by IRIN news.org special to The Daily Star said on Wednesday 28 July that Mauritania's President Maaouiya Ould Taya had sacked the entire economic team of his government the previous Sunday. It was followed by the sacking of the central bank…
Federal Reserve Board - Beige Book, July 2004
The Federal Reserve released its July 2004 Beige Book survey on 28 July. The report said the US economic expansion is showing some signs of moderating as consumer spending brakes.
Central Bank of China - Annual Report 2003
The Central Bank of China has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. Taiwan's economic performance experienced a slowdown in the first half of 2003, the report says, as concerns about the US-Iraq War and the outbreak of SARS in East Asia…
BoE wins appeal on limiting legal privilege
The Bank of England won an appeal on Thursday 29 July against rulings that restrict the confidentiality of a lawyer's contact with clients. The British government and Law Society had supported its claim that the Court of Appeal erred in its rulings on…
IMF criticised in report on Argentina
The IMF has been urged to have clear "stop loss" rules when deciding if its support for a country's policies was working or if a more fundamental change was needed.
Sri Lanka's fin min denies signing banknotes
Sri Lanka's central bank has been forced to hold back huge quantities of new banknotes because Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama publicly denied signing them, an official said on Thursday 29 July.
Common West African central bank by July 2005
A common central bank for the five West African countries, Nigeria, Guinea, Ghana, Sierra Leone and The Gambia will have begun operations by July 2005, this article says. To be officially known as the West Africa Central Bank (WACB) the policy-guiding…
SAMA awards ATM contract
CyberGuard Corporation, a technology leader in network security, announced Thursday that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has selected CyberGuard's premium firewall/VPN appliances to provide the information security for a new ATM network.
New Zealand's OCR increased to 6 per cent
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand increased the Official Cash Rate from 5.75 per cent to 6.00 per cent on 29 July.
Tucker on managing the central bank balance sheet
In the speech 'Managing the central bank's balance sheet: Where monetary policy meets financial stability' given on 28 July Paul Tucker of the Bank of England said sets out the analysis underlying the Bank's announcement on 22 July of major reforms of…
RBA's Battellino, some comments on securitisation
In a speech 'Some comments on securitisation' given on 28 July Ric Battellino of the Reserve Bank of Australia said there is no doubt that an efficient and dynamic financial sector contributes importantly to the growth and development of the economy, but…
Bank of Finland - Annual Report 2003
The Bank of Finland has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. Over the year, financial stability in Finland improved due to the continuing strong returns shown by the country's financial institutions. Overall, the financial market…
Central Bank of Iceland - Annual Report 2003
The Central Bank of Iceland has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. At the same time as national expenditure rebounded quite strongly from the low in 2001 and 2002, exports stagnated. Despite a strong recovery of private consumption and…