Central Banking
IMF's Koehler to visit Eastern Europe this week
IMF Managing Director Horst Kohler will visit Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia and Tajikistan this week. The trip includes a speech at the International Conference on the Occasion of the Tenth Anniversary of the Introduction of the Tenge -…
Meirelles: Brazil interest rates will keep falling
Bank of Brazil president Henrique Meirelles said Friday, according to AE Brazil, that low inflation could mean interest rates will continue to fall from the current 19%. Speaking ahead of a sovereign debt conference at the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank,…
Zeti sees Malaysia keeping ringgit peg
Speaking at the closing session of Morgan Stanley's Asia Pacific summit, the chief of Malaysia's Bank Negara, Zeti Akhtar Aziz, said rising asset prices and consumer debt are not a problem in Malaysia. He also said Malaysia won't review its ringgit peg,…
Australia's RBA upbeat on economy
The Reserve Bank of Australia said in its monetary policy statement 10 November "The economic situation has evolved rapidly over months, both in Australia and abroad." The report paved the way for further interest rate increases, AFP said, as housing…
China's yuan not raised at G10 meeting-Thai c bank
The governor of the Bank of Thailand Pridiyathorn Devakula told reporters on Monday the issue of China's exchange rate policy was not raised at the G10 meeting of central bankers in Bangkok.
Trichet says G10 expect global economic recovery
ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said on 10 November following the Bangkok meeting of G10 central bankers that each central bank was "making and doing what was necessary in its own environment" to keep interest rates at appropriate levels. Trichet said…
Ministry of Finance, BOK to exchange key personnel
Korea's Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Korea plan to exchange officials between the two organisations to build greater cooperation between themselves. The plan would allow for a greater exchange of know-how on critical economic issues, which the…
Chicago Fed's Moskow on U.S. Monetary Policy
In the speech 'U.S. Monetary Policy' given on 10 November Michael Moskow of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said the desirability of a specific inflation target or range has been the subject of public debate among FOMC members. Moskow also said…
World Bank hails currency conversion in Uzbekistan
David Pearce, resident representative of the World Bank in Uzbekistan, told a press conference in Tashkent that the World Bank welcomed national currency conversion in Uzbekistan. Interfax said. However, the World Bank is not satisfied with the results…
Greenspan on the outlook for the US economy
In a speech to the Securities Industry Association annual meeting on 6 November Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said soaring government budget deficits threaten the US economy in the long term and must be brought under control. But striking an…
Fed's Bernanke on the jobless recovery
In the speech 'The Jobless Recovery' given on 6 November Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve noted "a few encouraging signs" have appeared that a lengthy jobs slump was easing. "So far these signals of recovery remain tentative; on the basis of the…
The Canadian Phillips curve and regime shifting
This Bank of Canada Working Paper looks at the recent criticism of linear models of inflation for their poor forecasting performance, given that Phillips curves are usually estimated with linearity assumptions. Using two methodologies the Paper strongly…
Central Bank of Russia - Annual Report 2002
The Central Bank of Russia has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2002. Economic developments in Russia in 2002 were seriously affected by changes in the world economy, the Annual Report says. A quite favourable price situation on world…
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Nov/Dec 2003
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for November-December 2003 includes an article by St Louis Fed President William Poole "Fed Transparency: How, Not Whether", "Burgernomics: A Big Mac Guide to Purchasing Power Parity", and "Banking…
ECB press conference with questions and answers
At his first press conference since taking over from Wim Duisenberg, Jean-Claude Trichet said on 6 November that the stability and growth pact provided "an appropriate framework" for ensuring fiscal discipline. He said the budget deficit limit of 3 per…
Trichet warns EU over budget deficits
Jean-Claude Trichet issued a stern warning on 6 November to both eurozone governments and the EU Commission in Brussels that meddling with the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact would put the overall credibility of monetary union and economic…
Fed chief Greenspan hints end near for low rates
Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan suggested on 6 November that the end may be in sight for very low interest rates. Greenspan gave an optimistic assessment of the US economy's prospects for strong growth and appeared to depart from the FOMC's commitment to…
Interest rates can stay low says Fed governor
Federal Reserve governor Ben Bernanke said on 6 November there was "considerable scope" for US interest rates to remain at the current low rates without risking inflation. Bernanke told a conference sponsored by Carnegie Mellon University that he…
Chile c bank hints at further interest rate drop
Chile's central bank said Thursday it did not rule out further cuts to its historically low interest rates in an effort to further encourage the economic recovery. Despite low interest rates, inflation has remained under control and even fallen more than…
Crisis at Bangladesh Bank may be resolved
The recent problems at Bangladesh Bank may be resolved soon after reports that central leaders of the ruling Bangladesh National Party (BNP) are in favour of withdrawing the action taken against the BB officers and employees. The New Nation reported the…
KPMG selected as National Bank of Bulgaria auditor
KPMG was chosen on 7 November to audit the National Bank of Bulgaria's accounts a report said. Other candidates for the job were Ernst & Young and Deloitte & Touche, Novinite reported.
Santomero on beliefs in economics, monetary policy
In the speech 'Great Expectations: Beliefs in Economics and Monetary Policy' given on 5 November Anthony Santomero of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said he believed the FOMC should seriously consider inflation targeting so as to consolidate…
RBNZ's Bollard speaks on ANZ acquisition
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand released an excerpt from a speech by Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard on 6 November. It outlines the policy initiatives taken by the Reserve Bank in dealing with the application by the ANZ to buy National Bank. The…
Statement by RBA's MacFarlane on rate increase
In a statement following the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to increase interest rates to 5 per cent on 5 November, RBA governor Ian MacFarlane said "the Board's view is that it is no longer prudent to continue with such an expansionary policy…