Central Banking
ECB sticks to rates decision
SWITZERLAND - European Central Bank board member Eugenio Domingo Solans stressed the ECB's independence Monday and said it will not be pressured into cutting rates by political leaders in euro zone member states.
Taiwan's central bank cuts key rate to record low
TAIWAN - The Central Bank of China (CBC) announced Monday a further cut in its key interest rates by a quarter percentage point with the aim of defusing the threat of falling prices and maintaining export competitiveness.
Nigerian banks need code of operations, CBN chief
NIGERIA - Worried about recent experience in the global financial sector where corporate scandals have become the order of the day, governor of the Central Bank, Chief Joseph Sanusi, has asked banks to draw up a national code guiding operations of…
CBR's 5 priorities in modernising banking system
RUSSIA - The Central Bank of Russia has determined five priorities that it will follow in modernizing the banking system, Andrei Kozlov, the bank's first deputy chairman, said at a round-table meeting on banking reforms Monday.
MP says Malta central bankers comments 'offensive'
MALTA - Malta's Labour Party has slammed Central Bank governor Michael C Bonello after he claimed that Malta would benefit economically from European Union membership.
Yugoslavia trying 'to impose' dinar on Montenegro
YUGOSLAVIA - Ljubisa Krgovic, the chairman of the Montenegrin Central Bank Council, said Monday that the dinar cannot be the only means of payment between Serbia and Montenegro.
Ukraine premier wants National Bank chief removed
UKRAINE - Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatoliy Kinakh has asked President Leonid Kuchma to dismiss the chairman of the National Bank, Volodymyr Stelmakh for poor cooperation between the National Bank and the government, the official web site of the Cabinet…
Ferguson on recent experience and economic outlook
SPEECH - In the speech 'Recent Experience and Economic Outlook' made on 12 November, Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said the most recent recession was relatively mild and the current recovery has proved to be fairly weak compared with previous…
Bank of Canada Review, Autumn 2002
REPORT - The Bank of Canada published its Review for Autumn 2002 on 12 November. The review contains articles titled, Is Canada Dollarized?, CLS Bank: Managing Foreign Exchange Settlement Risk and Purchasing-Power Parity: Definition, Measurement, and…
ECB Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Announcement of a conference on "Prices, Productivity and Growth" organised by the European Central Bank, the Banco de Espaa and the Centre for Economic Policy Research, 8 November 2002.
FRBSF Economic Letter - Stock Market Volatility
RESEARCH - In this Economic Letter from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco the author surveys the academic literature on the properties and causes of stock market volatility, focusing on the debate on whether the stock market varies excessively,…
A new policy divide across the Atlantic
ARTICLE - Their analysis was so similar: the US Federal Reserve said on Tuesday that "inflation and inflationary expectations remain well contained"; Wim Duisenberg, the European Central Bank's president, concurred yesterday when he talked about "reduced…
The SEC's new start
ARTICLE - To paraphrase Winston Churchill, Harvey Pitt did the honourable thing this week. But only after he had exhausted every possible alternative.
CentralBankNet Monday Special Feature
SPECIAL FEATURE - The Federal Reserve boldly sliced half a point off interest rates last week but the Bank of England and ECB held firm. In this weeks Special Feature CentralBankNet looks at how the markets reacted to the decisions and whether the…
Bernanke - Milton Friedman's Ninetieth Birthday
SPEECH - In the speech 'On Milton Friedman's Ninetieth Birthday' made on 8 November, Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said to the assembled guests including Milton Friedman that the Federal Reserve takes responsibility for the Great Depression, "You…
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee
MINUTES - The Federal Reserve on 7 November released the minutes of its FOMC meeting of 24 September. Gramlich and McTeer dissented from the vote to hold rates constant, preferring to ease monetary policy at this meeting. The Committee believed that the…
RBA Statement on Monetary Policy, November 2002
REPORT - The Reserve Bank of Australia released its November 2002 Statement on Monetary Policy on 11 November. In the statement the RBA divide the year into two distinct phases with emerging optimism characterising the first half. However the second…
BIS Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - BIS opens Representative Office for the Americas, 11 November 2002.
Central Bank of Brazil Working Paper
RESEARCH - The paper 'Inflation Targeting in Brazil: Lessons and Challenges' by Andre Minella, Paulo Springer de Freitas, Ilan Goldfajn and Marcelo Kfoury Muinhos assesses the first three years of the inflation-targeting regime in Brazil adopted in July…
Inter-American Development Bank Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - IDB Board of Governors re-elects Enrique Iglesias to lead institution, 8 November.
Bank of England is model for 'new' ECB
FRANCE - The path towards Britain's possible entry into the euro will be made much easier by a radical French plan for the European Central Bank to be reformed in the image of the Bank of England.
Departing SEC chairman wins a standing ovation
US - Harvey Pitt delivered his valedictory speech to the securities industry Friday, with a defence of his record as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and a sideswipe at the partisanship that, he implied, had made the job impossible.
Total of bad loans understated by Y13,000bn - FSA
JAPAN - Japan's Financial Services Agency has revealed for the first time that it believes bad loans at the country's banks are Y13,000bn (£68bn) greater than the banks say.
Tax harmony is on EU agenda, says Giscard
FRANCE - Valery Giscard d'Estaing expects tax harmonisation to appear in the draft constitution being drawn up by the convention on the future of Europe.