Central Banking
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, September 2003
The Bank of Japan published the English version of its Monthly Report of Recent Economic and Financial Developments, September 2003, on 17 September. "Turning to the economic outlook, with respect to overseas economies, the likelihood is gradually…
BIS Working Paper on currency crises
This paper modifies the Morris-Shin theoretical framework of financial crises by allowing prices to adjust freely to market conditions. It is then shown that all of the appealing characteristics of that setup are preserved even when public information…
Trichet's nomination, ECB President to be approved
The European Parliament will debate the nomination of Jean-Claude Trichet as the next President of the European Central Bank (ECB) on 23 September.
Norway's interest rates lowered again
Norges Bank cut interest rates by 0.5% to 2.5% on Wednesday, according to Aftenposten. Central bank governor Svein Gjedrem said that with an interest rate of 2.50 per cent, Norges Bank's assessment is that the probability that inflation two years ahead…
IMF set to criticise RBNZ
The IMF is expected to criticise the Reserve Bank of New Zealand when it visits New Zealand in November, according to Reuters The IMF is expected to be critical because the RBNZ has little control of banks. Most are foreign-owned by big Australian banks.
IMF lowers its growth forecast for euro zone
The IMF cut its growth forecast to 0.5 percent this year from an April forecast of 1.1 per cent, according to a report by Bloomberg. The report also said while the euro's exchange rate has "stabilised", the US fiscal and current account deficits, as well…
Fed leaves key interest rate at 1 percent
The Federal Reserve signalled on Tuesday 16 September that interest rates would be kept low for a "considerable period", according to Associated Press. The Fed's assurances in August and this month that it will keep rates low for a considerable period…
RBA signals no more interest rate cuts
Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Glenn Stevens said on Wednesday 17 September "Although in early June a case to ease looked like it was building, it had not strengthened sufficiently by the time of the July meeting to warrant action", reports…
MPC minutes point to UK interest rates rise
Bank of England minutes released September 17 show that for a majority on the MPC, it was a "clear-cut" decision to leave rates unchanged in September. The decision to hold the Bank's main interest rate at 3.5 per cent was decisive, but for some members…
Zimbabwe tries to tame cash crisis with new money
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe intends to introduce "bearer cheques" next week in an attempt to alleviate the desperate shortage of cash in the country, Sapa AFP reports. The cheques were printed on banknote paper, looked like banknotes and were as "good…
Gold sales not on official IMF agenda-Welteke
Ernst Welteke said on Wednesday 17 September that renewal of the Washington Accord on gold sales would not be on the agenda at the Dubai IMF meeting scheduled for this weekend, according to Reuters. Welteke did repeat his regularly stated position,…
Norges Bank statement on interest rate cut
Statement from Norges Bank, the central bank of Norway, on its decision to reduce the sight deposit rate, by 0.5 percentage point to 2.50 per cent, with effect from 18 September.
Non, je ne regrette rien
It may be the eve of Wim Duisenberg's departure from the ECB, but if anyone was hoping for a token show of contrition from the stern Dutchman for his occasional indiscretions, they will have been sorely disappointed.
Sweden spurns the euro
Europe's unifiers have been profoundly shaken by Sweden's unambiguous decision to steer well clear of the euro for the time being. Both the Riksbank and the ECB have since publicly been at pains to clarify that the result of the referendum will have no…
Ill wind blows at Riksbank
On a rather breezier note, in August the Riksbank paid out over $100,000 in compensation to a disgruntled employee. 44-year-old computer technician Goran Andervass had fallen out with one of his colleagues after being "provoked by a disgusting fart - a…
What's goin' on?
Bank of England MPC member Stephen Nickell has just accomplished the rather unenviable task of explaining what the switch from an inflation target based on the RPIX index to the HICP index, as used in Europe, actually means. Inflation indexes: who cares?…
Governors in a fix
A number of governors are in a tight spot. In the Philippines, the Supreme Court has dismissed the criminal charges filed against governor Rafael Buenaventura - but it's not over yet. In Zimbabwe, the central bank remains without a governor, despite the…
Bank of Spain's Jaime Caruana on Basel II
In an interview with reuters, the Governor of the Bank of Spain, Jaime Caruana, said there is a unanimous understanding of the need for Basel II. .It is a completely new approach and in that sense you could say that it is a kind of revolution. He…
RBNZ Monetary Policy Challenge winner announced
Tawa College, Wellington, has won the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's 2003 Monetary Policy Challenge school competition, held on 16 September.
Nickell on Two Current Monetary Policy Issues
In a speech on 'Two Current Monetary Policy Issues' given on 16 September Stephen Nickell of the Bank of England said in the long run, thanks to differences in computational methods and the absence of the housing depreciation and council tax elements,…
Tumpel-Gugerell on payments and confidence
In a speech on 'Payments and confidence - the views of the Eurosystem' given on 16 September Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell of the ECB said the ECB - entrusted with the objective of the smooth functioning of payment systems - plays its role as a "watchdog" for…
Why inflation targeting is an inexact science
An article in the Independent says that in the past stronger-than-expected growth might have been a good reason to raise interest rates but if, today, stronger than expected growth results from the same process as lower-than-expected inflation, all our…
Bank of Japan upgrades view of economy
The Bank of Japan raised its assessment of the Japanese economy in its September monthly report, published on September 16. According to Associated Press, the report said that "Economic activity still continues to be virtually flat as a whole although…
BoE Nickell: HICP will not affect monetary policy
Speaking on September 16 Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Stephen Nickell said, according to AFX UK, that the move to the HICP measure of inflation later this year would have little noticeable difference in the short run and in the long…