Central Banking
Bank of England Inflation Report, August 2003
The Bank of England published its quarterly Inflation Report for August 2003 on Wednesday 13 August. In the report the Bank said "The recovery in the world economy has been slow and uneven," and "Inflation is projected to run somewhat below target…
Boards should not escape the Basel shake-up
In parallel with Basel II's emphasis on risk measurement and supervisory review, a crucial aspect of regulation should be to ensure that banks have effective governance structures, says this article in the Financial Times. Regulation that is forever…
Pennant-Rea joins board of Financial News Group
Former deputy governor of the Bank of England Rupert Pennant-Rea is to become a non-executive director on the board of the Financial News Group, according to the Financial Times.
Lebanon's Riad Salameh accentuates the positive
Lebanon's balance of payments recorded a big surplus of $2.5 billion until the end of June, central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Monday 11 August, according to a report by The Daily Star. He said he expected the growth in bank savings to reach an…
Bank of England cuts inflation forecast
The Bank of England's inflation report published on Wednesday 13 August showed that the Bank expects inflation to dip below the 2.5 percent target for most of 2004, after reaching 3 percent in April, Bloomberg reports.
Quaden on the Financial Stability Committee
In a speech on the 'Installation of the Financial Stability Committee' given on 30 July Guy Quaden of the National Bank of Belgium said that this new Committee and the far more historic institutions from which it emanates are firmly resolved that they…
Nigeria's Sanusi on efforts towards monetary union
In a speech on 'Ongoing efforts towards a monetary union in the West African sub-region' given on 1 July Dr Joseph Sanusi of the Central Bank of Nigeria said he was pleased to be given the privilege to brief Governors about on-going efforts to move…
Norway's central bank reduces interest rates
Norges Bank reduced interest rates on Wednesday 13 August by 1 percent to 3 percent, according to a report by Afterposten. This was the sixth time this year that Norway's central bank lowered interest rates.
Mexico reserves rise to $51.980 bln in Aug 8 week
Mexico's international reserves rose $255 million between Aug. 1 and Aug. 8 the Banco de Mexico said on Tuesday 12 August, according to Reuters..
BOU gets tough on forex flow
Foreign exchange bureau operators in Uganda have been issued with new guidelines on how to tackle money laundering, according to All Africa News. This focus on forex operators is part of the Uganda Bankers Association's 'Know Your Customer' (KYC)…
Zimbabwe's retailers reject new travellers cheques
After the introduction of new travellers' cheques in Zimbabwe to ease the cash crisis, reports say some retailers are turning away customers who have the cheques, according to All Africa News.
UK Treasury reviews cash ratio deposit scheme
Conclusions and recommendations of a UK Government review of the cash ratio deposit scheme for financial institutions. The key conclusions of the review are: The cash ratio deposit scheme continues to be a suitable method of funding Bank of England…
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, August 2003
The Bank of Japan published the English version of its Monthly Report of Recent Economic and Financial Developments, August 2003, on 12 August. The BOJ kept its assessment of the economy unchanged after slightly upgrading its view the previous month. …
External monetary policy adviser appointed at RBNZ
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Tuesday announced the appointment of Malcolm Bailey as one of the Bank's two part-time external monetary policy advisers.
'Time for clarity, Mr Greenspan'
As the Federal Reserve's FOMC meets Tuesday, this article says it's time for the Fed to be clearer about its growth and inflation targets and its plans to achieve them. Now that short-term rates can scarcely fall further, successful communication is a…
Argentina, IMF seen close to loan deal
Argentina and the International Monetary Fund have made progress in negotiations over the preliminary three-year debt rescheduling agreement, Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna told reporters on Monday Reuters said.
UK inflation rises unexpectedly in July
UK inflation rose to 2.9% in July the National Statistics office said Tuesday according to BizWorld. "The largest upward influence came from clothing and footwear, particularly women's outerwear. This year's summer sales for clothing were not as great as…
Fed expected to keep rates steady at 45-year low
The Federal Reserve is expected to hold short-term interest rates steady when it meets Tuesday USA Today reported, amid recent signs - including faster productivity growth and rising factory orders - that the economy is beginning to accelerate at a…
BOJ sets up panel to check accuracy of statistics
The Bank of Japan is to set up a committee to examine the central bank's statistics for accuracy, Japan Today said. The BOJ acknowledged July 25 that its monthly data on the outstanding balance of CP underwritten by banks were incorrect and would be…
Russian and Mongolian central banks sign agreement
The central banks of Russia and Mongolia have signed an agreement on the settlement of accounts in foreign economic relations between the two countries, Gateway2Russia reported.
Contrasting perspectives on deflation
For this weeks CentralBankNet Special Feature we present a variety of views on the threat of deflation. The well known phrase from former Fed Chairman William McChesney Martin that the job of central bankers is "to take away the punch bowl just when the…
Mboweni on Empowerment and the S African economy
In a speech on 'Empowerment and the South African Economy' given on 6 August Tito Mboweni of the South African Reserve Bank said that it is correct to say that ultimately the functions of the Reserve Bank are to make a contribution towards an environment…
Central Bank of Chile - Annual Report 2002
The Central Bank of Chile has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2002. In 2002 the Central Bank continued to analyse and interact with the financial system to modernize the national payments system, developing a draft real time gross…
RBA Statement on Monetary Policy, August 2003
The Reserve Bank of Australia released its August 2003 Statement on Monetary Policy on 11 August. While the Australian economy remains in a position to perform relatively well against a weak international background, the pace of growth of the non-farm…