Central Banking
Thailand's SET backs new derivatives exchange
Thailand's new derivatives market is expected to open next year with funding from the Stock Exchange of Thailand, notes the Bangkok Post. The new exchange will begin trade in futures contracts based on the stock index, interest and currency rates.
Bollard not concerned over NZ dollar strength
Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor Alan Bollard said on Tuesday 1 July that he was not concerned about the strength of the NZD "but we keep looking at it", according to One Business.
Armenia of interest for Russia's banking sector
Armenian central bank chairman Tigran Sarkisyan said in an interview that as bilateral economic contacts gather pace with Russia, Russian commercial banks will step up co-operation with Armenian partners to increase the servicing of financial flows,…
Bulgarian PM says c bank unaffected over delay
Bulgarian prime minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg said at the weekend that the delay in naming a new governor for the National Bank of Bulgaria will not have a negative effect on the institution, according to Novinite. He also said he did not know of a third…
Putin, central bank chairman discuss economy
Chairman of the central bank of Russia Sergey Ignatyev met with President Vladimir Putin on Monday 30 June to discuss the financial and economic situation in the country, RTR Russia TV reported. Ignatyev said the macroeconomic situation remains stable,…
India joins IMF's pool of lenders
A statement from the Reserve Bank of India, reported by Associated Press, said that the IMF has selected India for the first time to become a member of its Financial Transaction Plan, which helps bail out countries facing currency crises or at risk of…
Jean-Claude Trichet to chair G10 Governors
Jean-Claude Trichet was elected Chairman by the Governors of the Group of Ten (G10) central banks on 29 June. He succeeds Sir Edward George, who is retiring as Governor of the Bank of England.
BIS Board invites new member central banks to join
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Board has invited six central banks to BIS membership and appointed Hans Tietmeyer as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the BIS, 30 June.
Paper: monetary policy rules vis a vis uncertainty
The author of this Bank of Canada Working paper, Gabriel Srour, explores the role that Taylor-type rules can play in monetary policy, given the degree of uncertainty in the economy. It is shown that if the degree of persistence of inflation in the…
Bank of Spain's Jaime Caruana on global recovery
In a speech to the International Securities Market Association Annual General Meeting Jaime Caruana of the Bank of Spain said conditions for a global economic recovery in the second half of the year seem to be in place despite economic data that have yet…
Bank of Spain - Annual Report 2002
The Bank of Spain has published Chapter 1. Overview of its Annual Report for the year ended 2002.
Accession country central banks observe ECB meet
The ECB's General Council meeting of 26 June was attended for the first time by central bank presidents of the ten EU accession countries. The ECB decided last September to invite presidents and experts of the accession countries' central banks to attend…
Argentine Lavagna takes over FSRU bank 'hospital'
Argentina's Financial System Restructuring Unit, known as the bank "hospital", will be controlled by Argentina's economy minister Roberto Lavagna, according to la nacion. The move will ensure that any future restructuring of the financial system will be…
Bank of Lithuania issues its first bimetallic coin
The Bank of Lithuania has issued a 200 litas commemorative coin to celebrate the 750th anniversary of the crowning of King Mindaugas, the Baltic News Service announced. This is Lithuania's first bimetallic commemorative coin (gold and silver).
Farewell Eddie
Sir Edward George retired from the Bank of England on Monday. An article in the Financial Times looks back at his time as governor which, it says, can be looked on a successful decade which will not see him move rapidly from Who's Who to Who's He?
The case for a single currency for the planet
A recent conference in Italy debated the idea of a common global currency and a world central bank, according to the Wall Street Journal. If the euro can replace the franc, mark and lira, why can't a new world currency merge the dollar, euro and yen? A…
Deflation fears as c bankers eye global pick-up
The annual meeting of the Bank for International Settlements kicked off on Sunday 29 June with central bankers predicting a "gradual sluggish pick-up across the world moving into next year" as outgoing Bank of England Governor Sir Edward George said,…
Egypt - UK central bank agreement planned
Officials from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) have met for talks at the Bank of England's Centre for Central Banking Studies (CCBS) to launch a cooperation agreement between the CBE's Egyptian Banking Institute and the CCBS, according to the MENA news…
Germany plans major cuts in income tax
Germany plans wide ranging income tax cuts to stimulate Europe's largest economy, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said at the weekend. Both the EC and ECB have warned against financing the tax cuts through more state debt.
''Economic ideas on Asia should be from Asians''
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission chairman Andrew Sheng told reporters that Asian economic ideas should ideally originate, be written and discussed by Asians rather than rely on Western economists, the buisness Times reported.
''The Fed has not avoided danger''
An article in the Financial Times argues that the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates last week was a missed opportunity. Quantitative easing through an expansion of the money supply is needed, it argues, or the economic recovery could be…
Spotlight on central bank efficiency
Centralbanknet Monday Special Feature: How many economists does it take to set an interest rate? 320 staff toil away in the Bank of England's monetary analysis area. New Zealand's reserve bank manages with an entire staff of under 200. On the other hand,…
Olson on bank challenges with low interest rates
In a speech on 'Bank Management Challenges in a Low-interest-rate Environment' Mark Olson of the Federal Reserve said the most pronounced effect of the current climate has not been prominent in the headlines but is well known to the industry. We have…
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, May 2003
CFNAI Indicates Economic Activity Improved in May - The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI ) was -0.39 in May, a marked improvement from the downward-revised April level of -1.04. Most of the increase reflected better readings on the output…