Central Banking
Fed's Gramlich on workplace financial education
In a speech on 'Workplace Financial Education' given on 20 May, Ed Gramlich of the Federal Reserve said a financially smart worker is often a better worker.
Deal may be close in Welteke probe
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Friday 21 May that a deal may be close whereby German prosecutors drop the case against former Deutsche Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke in exchange for the payment of a fine.
US inflation a concern for McTeer
A recent rise in U.S. inflation has raised some concerns but Federal Reserve officials are not unduly worried, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert McTeer said on Thursday 20 May.
SNB's Roth: Euro's positive global influence
Swiss National Bank (SNB) governing board chairman Jean-Pierre Roth said that the euro has had a "positive global influence", including on Switzerland, since its introduction in 1999.
BoJ and govt agree to watch interest rates
Top government and central bank officials agreed in a meeting on Friday 21 May that they should carefully watch interest rates, Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto said.
Iraq's central bank plan goes beyond basics
This article says that what's remarkable about the financial architecture for Iraq is the scope and detail the coalition brought to the task of establishing an independent central bank. In March, the CPA published the Central Bank of Iraq Law, which, it…
IMF may raise growth forecast for Japan
The International Monetary Fund said on Friday 21 May that it is likely to raise its forecast for Japan's economic growth from its current estimate of 3.4 percent for this year when it issues its next global economic outlook.
Central bank holdings of US debt at new high
Foreign central banks increased their holdings of U.S. debt in the last week, the Federal Reserve reported on Thursday 20 May, taking their total holdings to yet another record.
PBOC's Zhou calls on banks to avoid loans bubble
People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said Friday banks should increase their provisioning for bad loans, while he criticized their failure to use a wider range for lending rates to properly weight risk.
African central bank governors meet in Uganda
At least 100 African ministers of finance and central bank governors were expected in Uganda Friday 21 May to discuss the obstacles to the continent's participation in global trade.
Belgium's Quaden on an evolving financial system
In a speech on 'Efficiency and stability in an evolving financial system' given on 17 May, Guy Quaden of the National Bank of Belgium said it is important that the closer interaction between the academic and regulator's worlds which is one of the new…
Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report, April 2004
The Deutsche Bundesbank has published the English version of its April 2004 monthly report. the German economy has continued its moderate upturn which began in the summer of 2003. According to the Bundesbank's calculations, real gross domestic product …
Sveriges Riksbank launches new website
The website of the Sveriges Riksbank has been changed radically in terms of content, function and graphic design and is based on the results of a user survey. The website has been developed with usability and accessibility in mind, according to the…
Reserve Bank of Australia Bulletin, May 2004
The Reserve Bank of Australia published its May 2004 Bulletin on 20 May. The Bulletin includes articles titled 'Residential Property Investors in Australia' And 'Banking Fees in Australia'.
Markets right to expect rate rise: Fed's Stern
Minneapolis Fed President Gary Stern said in an interview on Wednesday 19 May that financial markets are right to expect the Federal Reserve to start raising interest rates.
Bank of Japan maintains optimistic assessment
The Bank of Japan maintained its cautiously optimistic assessment of the economy in its latest monthly report, despite robust GDP data announced earlier in the week.
Study suggests fx volatility may not hurt trade
Rapid changes in exchange rates do not appear to have a "robustly negative" impact on trade flows, a team of International Monetary Fund analysts said in a report released on Wednesday 19 May.
Beijing forum on banking and finance opens
four hundred bankers from China and overseas, financial institution representatives and banking supervisors gathered in Beijing on Wednesday 19 May to discuss China's banking and financing issues at a high-profile forum.
IMF urge relaxing of yuan peg to ease bad loans
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised China to relax the yuan's dollar peg to help rein in excessive credit growth that threatens to cause a build-up of bad loans in the banking system.
Richmond Fed's Broaddus on the economy and banking
In a speech on 'Comments on the Economy and Banking' given on 18 May J. Alfred Broaddus of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said an upswing in core inflation had grabbed policymakers' attention. Broaddus indicated the Fed's stated goal of raising…
HKMA's Topping on financial risk
In a speech on 'Assessing, Managing & Supervising Financial Risk' given on 17 May, Simon Topping of the HKMA said Basel II is certainly relevant to emerging markets. It has global applicability, but it has to be applied pragmatically, he said, and fine…
Bank of England MPC Minutes 5/6 May 04
Minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee Meeting were released on 19 May for the meeting of 5 and 6 May 2004. The minutes showed the MPC voted unanimously in favour of raising interest rates to 4.25% but also considered a half-point…
Fed's Bies on corporate governance
In a speech on 'Corporate Governance: Where Do We Go From Here?' given on 19 May, Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve repeated on Wednesday that banks involved in setting up structured finance deals need to ensure they are undertaken for proper…
Santomero: Fed must be alert to inflation signs
Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Anthony Santomero said on Tuesday 18 May that the central bank must be mindful of further signs of inflation pressures, but can generally expect to raise rates at a "measured pace," as last stated by the FOMC.