Central Banking
SNB's Hildebrand: Inside Europe, outside EMU
In the speech 'Inside Europe, outside EMU - Lessons and Outlook' given on 23 April, Philipp Hildebrand of the Swiss National Bank said a lesson that can be drawn from the UK experience is that it would be wrong for Switzerland to advocate an EMU…
Bies on current issues in corporate governance
In a speech on 'Current issues in corporate governance' given on 26 April, Susan Bies of the Federal Reserve said it was important for banks to ensure their processes for determining loan-loss reserves were solid.
Papademos on five years of the euro
In a speech on 'Five years of the euro: past achievements and future challenges' given on 27 April, Lucas Papademos of the ECB said today we mark "The Euro at Five". The accomplishments of those five years are already substantial, he said, and we are…
SF Fed's Parry on globalization
In a speech on 'Globalization: Threat or Opportunity for the U.S. Economy?' given on 29 April, Robert Parry of the San Francisco Fed said the US economy benefits from companies' decisions to move jobs overseas because it creates new employment…
ECB welcomes the new EU Member States
On 1 May the European Union will have ten new Member States, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia. In a press release Friday, Jean-Claude Trichet welcomed the ten saying "We look forward to…
Monetary policy is no panacea: ECB's Papademos
European Central Bank Vice President Lucas Papademos said on Thursday 29 April that European Union governments cannot rely on monetary policy to cure structural economic problems.
Fukui says BOJ cannot commit to govt growth target
Toshihiko Fukui said in minutes released on Friday 30 April that while the Bank of Japan was committed to fighting deflation it could not commit to a specific growth rate, distancing the BOJ from a government growth target.
Issing says rate split suggestions 'sci-fi'
European Central Bank (ECB) chief economist Otmar Issing expressed concern on Thursday 29 April about sluggish growth in the 12-nation eurozone and dismissed suggestion of splits in the ECB over interests rates as "science fiction."
Nigeria gets new central bank governor
The Nigerian government announced on Thursday (29 April) the appointment of Professor Charles Soludo as the new Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Also appointed by President Obasanjo was W. A. Mshelia, the first woman deputy governor of the…
Eurozone inflation estimate reaches ECB 'ceiling'
Eurostat released a preliminary estimate for April inflation in the eurozone Friday showing that the rate had risen to a higher than expected 2.0 per cent from 1.7 per cent in March.
Classical King
A while back we reported that Bank of England governor Mervyn King was spotted out at an hour-long symphony by Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich at London's Royal Festival Hall. Now a press report says, shock horror, he has been seen carrying a CD of…
Norway's Gjedrem on global economy
In a speech on 'Monetary policy and cyclical developments' given on 22 April, Svein Gjedrem of Norges Bank said there are clear signs that the global economy has passed the trough. It may take some time before interest rates are increased substantially…
Fed's Ferguson on global imbalances
In a speech on 'Global Imbalances' given on 23 Apri,l Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said the probability of a disorderly decline in the value of the U.S. dollar is low and the American economy in general appears to be on track to remain in a …
Swiss National Bank - Annual Report 2003
The Swiss National Bank has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2003. After two years characterised by economic problems and geopolitical tension, the situation for the world economy improved in 2003. The US economy, which was steadily…
Chicago Fed's Moskow on manufacturing prospects
In welcoming remarks to the Conference on Manufacturing Prospects given on 27 April Michael Moskow of the Chicago Fed said that it is too soon to know whether a slowing in Midwest manufacturing activity over the past few years can be linked to broader…
BoE's Barker on asset prices
In a speech given on 28 April, Kate Barker of the Bank of England's MPC downplayed concerns about a possible housing-market crash and high levels of household debt, which the International Monetary Fund has called a main risk to the UK economy.
Trichet on monetary policy issues, the ECB's view
In a speech on 'Issues in monetary policy: views from the ECB' given on 26 April, Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said Europeans' perception of inflation is greater than the reality. "Perceived inflation is higher then real inflation," Trichet said in the…
RBNZ increases interest rates to 5.5%
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand increased its Official Cash Rate from 5.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent on Thursday 29 April. RBNZ Governor Alan Bollard commented on the decision "The New Zealand economy continues to perform strongly and this is being…
Sweden holds rates steady at 2%
At its meeting on Wednesday 28 April the Executive Board of the Riksbank decided to leave the repo rate unchanged at 2 per cent. After a mild economic downturn the recovery in the Swedish economy has proceeded largely as expected, the Riksbank said.
Logica implements Chile RTGS system
Logica announced on Thursday the successful implementation of its Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System for the Banco Central de Chile (BCC), Chile's Central Bank.
SNB: Swiss franc not hindering recovery
Current Swiss franc exchange rates are not hindering the country's economic rebound, and while market intervention remains an option, it is not an issue at the moment, Swiss National Bank (SNB) directorate member Philipp Hildebrand said in an interview…
Request for comment on payments system risk policy
The Federal Reserve Board on 21 April requested comment on proposed revisions to Part II of its Policy Statement on Payments System Risk (PSR Policy), which addresses risk management in payments and securities settlement systems.
Fed's Greenspan on energy
In a speech on 'Energy' given on 27 April, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said the likelihood of persistently high energy prices would help check US energy use and lead businesses to rethink energy-related investment decisions.
Chicago Fed's Moskow on five years of the euro
In opening remarks to the "Five Years of the Euro: Successes and New Challenges" Conference given on 26 April Michael Moskow of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said the five-year-old shared euro currency continues to pose challenges for its member…