Central Banking
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences
PRESS RELEASE - The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2002, winner announced, 9 October.
SARB Monetary Policy Review - October 2002
REPORT - The South African Reserve Bank has published its October Monetary Policy Review. The report reflects on increased inflationary pressures in the South African economy following the depreceiation of the rand in the latter half of 2001.
Balkans pact on division of gold
YUGOSLAVIA - Yugoslavia and four former Yugoslav republics have agreed to divide $87m (£55m) worth of gold left over from the Yugoslav federation, a Bosnian government spokesman said yesterday.
France faces formal Brussels rebuke
BELGIUM - France was yesterday left isolated and facing a European Union reprimand after blowing a hole in the credibility of the rules that underpin the euro.
Two Americans win Nobel Prize in economics
SWEDEN - The 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize for economics has been awarded to a psychology professor and a researcher who developed laboratory tests of economic theory.
Brazil c bank imposes stricter equity requirements
BRAZIL - Brazil's central bank has raised the equity requirement for banks holding US dollars, in a bid to halt the local currency's slide against the dollar, Brazilian central bank regulations director Sergio Darcy was quoted as saying by local press.
Bank of Spain makes pessimistic on economy
SPAIN - Jaime Caruana, governor of the Bank of Spain, yesterday announced the bank's economic predictions. The central bank is expecting growth this year of no more than 2 per cent, two tenths of a percentage point lower than the government's prediction.
Yugoslavia sees monetary stability behind reform
YUGOSLAVIA - Addressing Nis University School of Economy students late on Tuesday, National Bank of Yugoslavia (NBY) Governor Mladjan Dinkic presented the results of his two-year work, stressing that the achieved monetary stability was one of the most…
Polish central bank wants Poland in euro zone 2006
POLAND - The Polish National Bank (NBP) wants Poland to join the euro zone in 2006, but does not rule out that the entry will take a year later, PAP News Agency reported NBP Deputy Governor Andrzej Bratkowski as saying on Tuesday.
Credit cards post huge growth in Thailand
THAILAND - The credit-card market is expected to grow by at least 40% next year, following estimated expansion of about 45% this year, Wanvimol Kanoktanaporn, a senior vice-president at the Bank of Asia, said yesterday.
Turkmen c bank issues gold and silver coins
TURKMENISTAN - The Central Bank of Turkmenistan has issued a set of memorial gold and silver coins, devoted to the parents of Turkmen President Saparmyrat Nyyazow, Turkmen TV first channel reported.
Speech by Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, 7 Oct
SPEECH - In a speech on 'The continued strength of the U.S. banking system' Greenspan explores the apparent incongruity between this and the recent substantial losses on corporate credits. He sums up on a cautious but positive note: 'Success, indeed…
Speech by M Moskow, President, Chicago Fed, 3 Oct
SPEECH - Moskow said in a speech on 'The Economy and Expanded Trade' that the last 20 years has brought deregulated financial markets, developed more flexible labor markets and made major advances in technology for the U.S. economy. Moskow concluded that…
Testimony of Wim Duisenberg, ECB President, 8 Oct
SPEECH - In testimony before the EU Parliament Duisenberg stressed that structural reforms are required so that the full benefits of the introduction of the euro can be reaped. Given the environment of subdued economic growth, Duisenberg was of the…
Nikkei plunges on Takenaka's remarks
JAPAN - Stocks hit their lowest level since 1983 after Japan's finance minister said no bank is too big to fail. Investors, fearing a wave of corporate bankruptcies under the government's bad-loan solution, drove Tokyo share prices to another 19-year low…
BOJ's Hayami- Utmost being done on monetary policy
JAPAN - Governor of the Bank of Japan Masaru Hayami said on Monday that the central bank is doing its utmost to ease credit conditions.
Gulf bank governors meet today in al-Riyadh
SAUDI ARABIA - The governors of monetary establishments and central bank in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states today discuss in Riyadh necessary criterion to provide a success for the monetary federation among their respective states.
SARB-South Africa's inflation outlook has improved
SOUTH AFRICA - Central bank governor Tito Mboweni sent a strong signal on Tuesday that interest rates may not rise again in November, saying the country's inflation outlook had improved "significantly".
Duisenberg urges reforms
EUROPE - Wim Duisenberg, head of the European Central Bank, on Tuesday said a lack of confidence in markets and uncertainty are the bigger problems for the European economy rather than the ECB's oft-criticized hold on interest rates.
BOK likely to raise call rate: Deutsche Bank
KOREA - Deutsche Bank yesterday forecast the Korean central bank will increase the overnight call rate by 25 basis points to 4.50 percent at its Monetary Policy Committee meeting slated for tomorrow.
US banks 'quite healthy' - Fed's Greenspan
US - Consumers and home owners helped the US banking system absorb bad business loans and remain 'quite healthy,' Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said.
Economy improving, O'Neill tells bankers
US - The U.S. economy is likely grew at least 3 percent during the third quarter and will show slightly more robust performance in the current quarter and beyond, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill predicted in Phoenix on Monday.
Chinese central bankers in visit to Taiwan
TAIWAN - A China central bank delegation heading to Taiwan may include the highest-level official yet to visit the island as Taiwan banks prepare to open their first offices across the strait, the Taipei Times said.
Afghan bank governor wants aid to be productive
INTERVIEW - Afghanistan's U.S.-educated central bank head says he wants to see the war-ravaged country standing on its own feet economically within four to five years. In an interview given to Reuters at the weekend he also revealed he has two full time…