Central Banking
Bank of Israel - Annual Report 2003
The Bank of Israel has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. The report says there was a turnaround in 2003 and economic activity rallied: GDP and business-sector product rose, after declining in the two previous years. The recovery was…
Nickell warns on UK house prices
In a speech on 'Household debt, house prices and consumption growth' given on 14 September, Stephen Nickell of the Bank of England said there is a significant probability that house prices in the UK will fall at some stage though it is hard to say how…
Profitability of RBA foreign exchange operations
Since the float of the Australian dollar in December 1983, the Reserve Bank of Australia has retained the discretion to intervene in the foreign exchange markets in order to avoid what it perceives to be large overshooting in the currency. This paper…
US to offer anti-money laundering training
The Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) will be the first US organisation to offer training and certification in the UAE to help Middle Eastern professionals develop their controls against money laundering and terrorist…
No gold sale plan, says Bank of Italy
In a statement released on Monday 13 September, the Bank of Italy said it had no plans to sell its gold reserves.
IMF's Krueger supports Russian central bank
IMF First Deputy Managing Director Anne Krueger said at a press conference on Monday 13 September that the International Monetary Fund supports actions by the Central Bank of Russia to regulate the recent unstable situation in the country's banking…
RBI may revise inflation target
The Reserve Bank of India, which is closely monitoring inflation, now at 8.33 per cent, may revise its annual target of 5-5.5 per cent in the busy season credit policy next month, according to RBI deputy governor Rakesh Mohan.
Papua New Guinea central bank posts record profit
The Bank of Papua New Guinea posted a record profit of 68m kina for last year on Tuesday. The bank posted a profit of 54m kina in 2002 and paid 50m kina of that to the state.
Poole on challenges for US businesses
At a panel discussion on the challenges for U.S. businesses which took place on 10 September, William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said the large U.S. current account deficit does not worry him as it implies a capital account surplus,…
Sweden's Persson: structural reform and employment
Deputy Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank Kristina Persson on Monday September 13 gave her view of economic developments at a seminar in Paris arranged by the Swedish Center for Business and Policy Studies and the Swedish Chamber of Commerce.
RBI's Udeshi on bank supervision- challenges ahead
In a speech on 'Bank Supervision - Challenges Ahead' given on 28 August, Smt. K.J. Udeshi of the Reserve Bank of India said in view of the relevance of improved risk management systems under the changing circumstances and the larger emphasis placed on…
BoJ's Monetary Policy Meeting, 9/10 August
The Bank of Japan released the minutes from its 9 and 10 August meeting on 14 September. In the minutes of its monthly meeting the BoJ cautioned that high oil prices will have a negative impact on the Japanese economy.
On the resolution of banking crises
This Bank of England Working Paper reviews the merits of the various techniques used by authorities when resolving individual or widespread bank failures in developed and emerging market economies. Open-ended central bank liquidity support seems to have…
'No urgency' to lift rates says Fed's Bies
Federal Reserve Governor Susan Bies said the central bank faces ``no urgency'' to lift the benchmark U.S. interest rate while awaiting more evidence that economic expansion is steady.
BOJ may hold rates down until 2008
The Bank of Japan may hold its key interest rate near zero per cent until 2008 as declines in rice and electricity prices fuel deflation, Mizuho Securities Co. economist Yasunari Ueno wrote in a report, according to Bloomberg News.
China eyes capital market reforms
China has succeeded in curbing investment and credit growth, and the priority now is to free up interest rates, People's Bank of China deputy governor Li Ruogu said in remarks that may signal long-awaited capital market reforms are drawing nearer.
Russia cb prepares for world-class infrastructure
At a strategic meeting on June 23, 2004 in St. Petersburg, Russia, Michail Senatorov, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Central Bank, and Lazaro Campos, Member of the SWIFT Executive Committee, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in which the bank…
ECB's Trichet says he's still 'Mr Euro'
ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said Saturday he remained firmly in place as "Mr Euro" despite the appointment of Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker as the political face of the 12-nation eurozone.
Find your way around Basel II with FSI Connect
Banking supervisors around the world are gearing up to implement the new capital accord Basel II. FSI Connect, a web-based study and tutoring programme has been designed specifically for banking supervisors by experts at the BIS. Courses focus on risk…
Yellen on US economic and monetary policy
In a speech on US economic and monetary policy given on 9 September, Janet Yellen of the San Francisco Fed said the Fed's overnight interest rate remains well below the neutral level, so there is "a strong presumption that rates will need to keep going…
Cleveland's Pianalto: an economic perspective
In a speech on 'A National Economic Perspective' given on 10 September, Sandra Pianalto of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland said US interest rates should rise to avoid future price pressures, but conceded that inflation did not pose a major threat…
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, September 2004
The Bank of Japan released the English version of its September 2004 monthly report on 13 September. In the report the bank said Japan's economy continues to recover. But the report also says exports and industrial production increased at a slower pace,…
Rate hikes can be measured, says Dallas Fed chief
Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert McTeer said on Friday 10 September that he believed further interest rate increases could be measured and noted that economic growth would be stronger in the months ahead.
IMF's Krueger to visit Moscow
The International Monetary Fund's First Deputy Managing Director Anne Krueger will be visiting Moscow September 12- 15, IMF External Relations Department Director Thomas Dawson announced in Washington on Thursday 9 September.