Central Banking
Lebanese central bank fighting money laundering
A report issued on Wednesday March 26 says that the central bank of Lebanon is increasing its activities against suspected money launderers, according to a report in the Lebanon Daily Star. Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh is reported to have said in…
ABM lauds Bank Negara monetary measures
Malaysia's Association of Banks has praised measures set out by the central bank governor in the 2002 Annual Report. It said the steps would help maintain growth and support business activity.
HKMA Pay Adjustments 2003
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced on Thursday March 27 that the pay adjustments for staff of the HKMA would take effect in April 2003. The changes include a further reduction of just over 5% in fixed pay for Chief Executive Joseph Yam.
Dominican central bank chief becomes minister
The president of the Dominican Republic's central bank, Frank Guerrero Pratts, has been appointed foreign minister of the Caribbean nation, according to a report by Associated Press. The previous foreign minister resigned on Wednesday March 26 after…
De La Rue to take over BoE note printing operation
The UK Department of Trade and Industry has cleared bank note printer De La Rue's take over of the Bank of England's banknote printing operation, according to CMP Information.
IMF Global Financial Stability Report, March 2003
The International Monetary Fund published on 27 March its Global Financial Stability Report, the semiannual assessments of global financial markets. In the report the IM warned that a prolonged war in Iraq could hit global financial markets hard. The…
Bernanke - Perspective on inflation targeting
In a speech on 'A Perspective on Inflation Targeting' Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said adoption of an explicit inflation goal was in his view the best way for the Fed to achieve its goals of stable prices and maximum sustainable growth. He added,…
ECB on reproduction and exchange of euro notes
New rules on the reproduction and exchange of euro banknotes have been issued by the ECB on 25 March 2003.
Norges Bank introduces new anti-counterfeit note
On 25 March, Norges Bank put a new version of the 100-krone note into circulation, designed to safeguard against counterfeiting.
G-10 Working Group report on contractual clauses
The Report of the G-10 Working Group on Contractual Clauses (September 2002) hes been published in March 2003. The report sets out the key features of collective action clauses for sovereign bonds that the G10 Ministers and Governors believe would, if…
ECB's Issing on eurozone growth
In testimony to the European Parliament Otmar Issing of the ECB said eurozone economic growth is expected to be only moderate this year, and inflation is forecast to fall below 2%, although developments continue to be overshadowed by the war in Iraq. He…
Duisenberg may be asked to stay on at ECB
Wim Duisenberg may be asked to stay on as president of the European Central Bank for a further year to prevent France losing face if a French candidate is not available to take up the job, according to a report by Expatica News.
Iraq cb governor's complaints re Iraqi funds
A report from the BBC claims that Iraqi TV has broadcast an interview with the governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Issam Rashid Hwaish, in which he accused the US authorities of "an act of piracy" by seeking to take over Iraqi funds which had already…
Bank of France to sell property assets
A report in Le Monde newspaper says that the Bank of France plans to sell 20 per cent of its property holdings valued at 100m euros.
SARB: possible shift in foreign currency policy
South Africa's reserve bank has intervened in the currency market, in what is being seen as a shift in the Bank's policy. According to Business Day, the rand's recovery prompted the SARB to purchase dollars for reserves on a "moderate scale" governor…
Egypt imposes hard currency controls
Egyptian authorities have introduced a decree which aims to halt the decline in reserves at the central bank, according to Associate Press. The conflict in Iraq is expected to make the situation worse with income from tourism severely restricted.
RBA's McKibbin sees long slowdown
The U.S.-led war in Iraq will drain the world economy for years to come, sapping income from a wide range of countries, Australian central bank board member Warwick McKibbin has said, it is reported by Reuters
Bank Negara: Equal emphasis on supply-side
Publishing its annual report for 2002, the central bank of Malaysia said the conduct of monetary policy would focus primarily on ensuring favourable conditions on cost, market liquidity and accessibility, the Edge Daily reports
Venezuela considers modifying forex controls
Venezuela's currency control system may be modified with alternatives under discussion including keeping a fixed exchange rate of 1,600 bolivars to the dollar, says Reuters
Economic Consequences of The Iraq War
In this article David Hale looks at the economic consequences of the war in Iraq. He says that although markets will rally on positive news of the conflict, in the longer term how the US deals with large fiscal deficits and unprecedented current account…
Bundesbank publishes Annual Accounts for 2002
The Bundesbank published its results for 2002 on Wednesday revealing income of €7 billion. Realised gains from financial operations was €2.1 billion. €0.6 billion accrued from the distribution of profits by the ECB.
BoE governor on inflation
In a speech Edward George, governor of the Bank of England, said although risks exist he thinks that the most likely outcome is that we will see a gradual pick-up in the pace of global recovery over the next year or two. He said inflation may well rise…
FOMC minutes of Jan 2003 meeting
The Federal Reserve on 20 March released the minutes of its FOMC meeting of 28-29 January, 2003 The minutes show difficulties predicting how the wobbly U.S. economy would hold up during a war with Iraq troubled Federal Reserve policy-makers at their…
Kohn on inflation targeting in the US
In a speech on 'Comments on Marvin Goodfriend's "Inflation Targeting in the United States?"' Donald Kohn of the Federal Reserve said the Fed has not engaged in implicit inflation-targeting by saying it supports "long-run price stability". He also said…