Central Banking
Diverse bunch
ARTICLE - Another inflation report, another smooth performance from Mervyn King, the Bank of England's monetary policy supremo. Despite the best efforts of his interrogators, he refused to let the words "boom" or "bubble" pass his lips when talking about…
Macfarlane - Monetary Policy in an Uncertain World
SPEECH - In the speech 'Monetary Policy in an Uncertain World' made on 13 November, Ian Macfarlane of the Reserve Bank of Australia said when we look around us at the challenges facing central banks in other countries, we are reminded that decisions are…
Greenspan on The Wealth of Nations Revisited
SPEECH - In the speech 'The Wealth of Nations Revisited' made on 12 November, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said Adam Smith's idea of the 'invisible hand' whereby economic decisions that benefit an individual benefit society as a whole indirectly…
Greenspan's fight
ARTICLE - Last week, the Federal Reserve decided to blow, once again, into the flapping sails of the US economy. The puncturing of the bubble economy continues to create fierce headwinds. Further interest rate cuts - perhaps more unorthodox measures -…
Britain would be mad to join the euro
ARTICLE - Britain's European policies rest on two misapprehensions. Taken together, they lead us into all kinds of danger, yet still we do not abandon them. Perhaps the parlous state of Europe may open even our apologetic eyes and change the way we…
European Central Bank Working Paper No 194
RESEARCH - ECB Working Paper, "Sensitivity analysis of volatility: a new tool for risk management" by Simone Manganelli, Vladimiro Ceci and Walter Vecchiato, November 2002.
European Central Bank Working Paper No 192
RESEARCH - ECB Working Paper, "Is the European Central Bank (and the United States Federal Reserve) predictable?", by Gabriel Perez-Quiros and Jorge Sicilia, November 2002. This paper examines the predictability of the monetary policy decisions of the…
Bank of England Inflation Report, November 2002
REPORT - The Bank of England published its quarterly Inflation Report for November 2002 on Wednesday. In the report the bank recognises the fragility of the world economy and continued stock market volatility. The report reveals that inflation is…
Webster quits as accounts watchdog
US - William Webster on Tuesday quit as head of the US's new accountancy regulator, a casualty of a debacle that has already forced out Harvey Pitt, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Economists' expectation of UK euro entry falls
UK - Financial markets indicate expectations of Britain joining the euro are receding as a result of the lack of any movement in the opinion polls, according to economists at HSBC.
Transparency and the Bank of England
LETTER - Letter published by the Financial Times, 13 November.
Bienvenidos Sr Greenspan
ARTICLE - Ever so briefly yesterday, the capital of the world financial system moved to Mexico City. Alan Greenspan, Andrew Crockett, Wim Duisenberg and a bevy of other central bankers were all in town for a seminar on macroeconomic stability organised…
Banks face tough test ahead on international stage
JAPAN - Japan's banks, soon to face unprecedented pressure to clean up their massive bad loan mess, already have a lot on their plate. But their job now looks set to get even harder, thanks to new capital accounting standards the Bank for International…
Risk-profile onus falls on India's banks
INDIA - The RBI has rolled out Risk Based Supervision (RBS) for banks. The central bank has sent a template of prudential norms to all banks to independently measure their prudential status.
China beats USA as Korea's largest export market
SOUTH KOREA - China has surpassed the United States in terms of its share of South Korea's export market in the first nine months of this year, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday.
Greenspan: Economy has hit 'soft patch'
US - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Wednesday the U.S. economy was weighed down by worry over possible war and falling stock prices but not by dangerous imbalances that tended to herald recession.
EU disciplines Germany over deficit, warns France
BELGIUM - The European Commission publicly censured Germany and France over their budgets on Wednesday, saying Berlin would exceed EU deficit limits this year and Paris risked following suit next year.
Mboweni takes inflation plan to the people
SOUTH AFRICA - South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Tito Mboweni took the central bank's views on inflation to the public on Wednesday, stressing the bank would not try to meet its targets "at all costs".
Gramlich on smart growth, at the Cleveland Fed
SPEECH - In a speech to the Cleveland Fed Conference made on 7 November, Edward Gramlich of the Federal Reserve said the fundamental principle of smart growth is that development should be of a holistic nature. That is, rather than just paying attention…
Bies on effective accounting and disclosure
SPEECH - In the speech 'Effective Accounting and Disclosure for Financial Transactions and Financial Institutions' made on 7 November, Susan Bies of the Federal Reserve said a restoration of public confidence in the U.S. capital markets has begun, but…
New mandates for management of equity portfolios
PRESS RELEASE - Norges Bank Investment Management is today announcing new external active mandates for the Government Petroleum Fund. The new mandates are within the consumer staples, consumer cyclicals, media and services sectors, 12 November.
Bank of Mauritius - Annual Report 2002
ANNUAL REPORT - The Bank of Mauritius has published its Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2002.
War cloud hangs over global economy recovery in 03
MEXICO - The global economy is set for recovery next year, once uncertainties surrounding the possibility of a war on Iraq are resolved, the head of the Bank of International Settlements said on Monday.
French urge Britain to speed entry to the euro
FRANCE - The French government has made a private plea to senior British MPs to speed British entry to the euro, promising flexibility in negotiations on the terms of British entry.