Central Banking
Russia issues forecasts on 2005
The Russian government will continue to target both the exchange rate and inflation next year because its economy is not ready for a free-floating ruble. At the same time, forecasts show a potential boost to the economy from revenues caused by high oil…
Brazil's Meirelles given cabinet status
The president of the Central Bank of Brazil, Henrique Meirelles, has been granted cabinet status in a further development to allegations of his financial misconduct by the national press.
China's issues warning on inflation
China's central bank sees some effects from its attempts to combat rising inflation, but bad debts remain a problem.
Minutes of Bank of England MPC, August
Minutes from the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee revealed a unanimous decision to raise interest rates in August, but indicate that the UK may be approaching the end of the series of rate rises which began in November 2003.
Hungary cuts rates by half percent
The central bank of Hungary reduced the base rate by half a percentage point, from 11.5 pe rcent to 11 per cent, when it met on 16 August. While the central bank pointed to improvements in the economy as the cause, it is thought that a desire to weaken…
Bank to take market view
Hidden within the Bank of England's most recent inflation report is a significant tweaking of the Bank's inflation targeting stance. CentralBankNet reports on the Bank's adoption of market forecasts of interest rates for some of its projections.
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's 29-30 June FOMC meeting released on 12 August showed that Fed officials had no sense that the U.S. economy had hit a "soft patch" when they met in late June and decided to raise key short-term interest rates for the…
Fed's Gramlich on social security reforms
In a speech on 'Rules for assessing social security reform' given on 12 August, Edward Gramlich of the Federal Reserve said any plans to reform the Social Security retirement program should be self-financed and not rely on general government revenues.
BoJ's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
The Bank of Japan released the minutes from its 12, 13 July meeting and also the 25 June meeting on 13 August. At the most recent meeting members agreed that the Japanese economy continued to recover, citing increases in production and corporate profits…
IMF says Turkey's cb independence important
A report on Turkey's performance under the most recent International Monetary Fund-supported economic program praised Turkey and its central bank for reducing the inflation rate to single-digits.
Poland to up its economic growth forecast
The Polish government is set to raise its forecast for 2004 growth in gross domestic product, the PAP news agency reported on Friday 13 August.
Peru's Silva may head for IMF
Chairman of the Central Bank of Peru, Javier Silva Ruete, may leave his job and head for the IMF in Washington, Gestion newspaper reported this week, citing Economy and Finance Minister Pedro-Pablo Kuczynski.
Former auditing chief appointed to PBOC dep gov
Xiang Junbo, the former deputy auditor-general of National Audit Office (NAO), has been appointed vice governor of People's Bank of China, an official at the central bank press office said.
Interview with ECB's Lucas Papademos
In an interview published by Il Sole 24 Ore this week, vice President of the European Central Bank Lucas Papademos said that since last April the ECB has preferred to cease using the word "appropriate" so as to dispel the impression that had prevailed in…
Goh becomes chairman of MAS
Lee Hsien Loong, who became Singapore's third prime minister on Thursday 12 August, will remain as finance minister, but his predecessor Goh Chok Tong is to take over as chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Brazil's central bankers strike for second day
Eighty per cent of Brazilian central bank employees went on strike for a second day in demand of a pay rise, central bank spokesman Jocimar Nastari was quoted as saying this week.
Give RBZ autonomy, IMF tells Zimbabwe
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a Working Paper that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) needs to be independent from government to achieve its policy objectives.
SARB announces changes to its MPC
The composition of the South African Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee has been changed to allow for two senior staff members of the SARB to become members. A.D. Mminele, Head of Financial Markets and Dr M. Mnyande, Head of Research and Senior…
Madagascar reports difficult economic conditions
A disputed presidential election meant a difficult 2002 for Madagascar's central bank. In its recently published annual report for that year the central bank discusses the impact of these problems and its actions in combating them.
RBA Conference: The future of inflation targeting
The Reserve Bank of Australia has published the papers presented at its 2004 Conference "The future of inflation targeting" held 9-10 August. Papers include 'Can central bank transparency go too far?,' 'Inflation measurement for central bankers', and …
ECB Monthly Bulletin, August 2004
The European Central Bank published its August 2004 Monthly Bulletin on 12 August. In the Bulletin the ECB said rising oil prices may hurt the economy in the 12 eurozone nations and keep inflation above the bank's limit into early next year.
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, August 2004
The Bank of Japan released the English version of its August 2004 monthly report on 12 August. In the report the bank said Japan's economy continues to recover, adding that the upturn will likely gather "stronger momentum."
Global currency answer to unstable world economy
This article asks whether floating exchange rates have proved to be the ideal replacement for the unsustainable adjustable exchange-rate pegs of the Bretton Woods monetary regime. If the global market economy is to thrive in the decades ahead, a global…
Canada's new banknotes to be issued in autumn
The Bank of Canada plans to issue a new $50 note, the final banknote in the Canadian Journey series, on 17 November. Before that the bank expects to put the new $20 note into circulation beginning late September.