Central Banking
Speech by Svein Gjedrem of Norges Bank, 21 Aug
SPEECH - On Wednesday Gjedrem said in a speech titled 'Monetary policy in an oil economy' that lower wage growth would boost earnings and employment. In addition, interest rates could be reduced. He added that activity in the Norwegian economy as a whole…
Monetary Authority of Macau - Annual Report 2001
ANNUAL REPORT - The Monetary Authority of Macau has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2001.
Sticky prices: the impact of regulation
RESEARCH - The Journal of Monetary Economics, May 2002, contains a paper, 'Sticky prices: the impact of regulation'. The paper finds that approximately one-third of the items in the CPI are governed by price regulations that can slow and add noise to the…
New Bank of England £5 notes reissued
UK - The Bank of England is to restart distribution of the new £5 notes. The notes have already been delivered to banks and post offices, and from Wednesday morning are being made available to the public.
Wage restraint could bring rate cuts for Norway
NORWAY - Norway's central bank governor said on Wednesday that demand and activity in Norway's oil-backed economy was still high but that lower wage growth could provide a basis for lower interest rates.
Philadelphia Fed's Santomero says policy is right
US - Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Anthony Santomero said on Wednesday that the economic recovery, while more modest than expected, should move forward and that the Fed's current policy stance is appropriate.
SARB inflation target seen as out of reach
SOUTH AFRICA - Consumer inflation surprised on the upside last month, fuelling expectations that the Reserve Bank's targets for next year are getting out of reach, though Business Day reports economists said they did not expect interest rates to rise…
RBA's Macfarlane signals rates may head higher
AUSTRALIA - Reserve Bank Governor Ian Macfarlane on Wednesday delivered an upbeat view of the Australian economy, warned of a looming shakeout in property and signalled that the bank remains on course to raise interest rates once global uncertainties…
Young blood for MAS' senior ranks
SINGAPORE - Nine officers at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, whose average age is 40, will move into key positions as part of organisational revamp, the Singapore Straits Times reported on Tuesday.
Philippines central bank tightens rules on credit
PHILIPPINES - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is set to issue this week a circular restraining banks and credit card companies from issuing pre-approved "plastic money" and requiring them to adopt a stricter system of screening credit card applications.
Chicago Fed's Moskow sees ongoing U.S. expansion
US - Chicago Federal Reserve President Michael Moskow said Wednesday that he expected the U.S. economy to keep growing, while warning that the path back to its potential growth rate could be rocky.
Dollar falls as Saudi investors withdraw billions
SAUDI ARABIA - The dollar today fell from recent highs against the euro and yen following a report that Saudi investors were pulling billions of dollars out of the US.
Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report, July 2002
REPORT - Germany's central bank, on Tuesday published its Monthly Report for July 2002. The Bundesbank report reveals that the German economy grew slightly in the second quarter by 0.25 percent in April to June compared with the previous three months…
Fedtalk from the Boston Fed, May 2002
PUBLICATION - Financial Services Update of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, May 2002. A newsletter about Boston Fed financial services, Fedtalk offers the latest information on check services and electronic delivery systems. The most recent edition,…
New England Economic Review, Second Quarter 2002
PUBLICATION - Published quarterly by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the journal examines economic and public policy issues, as researched by the Bank's economists and others. In the most recent edition of the New England Economic Review the journal…
Danmarks Nationalbank Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - "Kun rlige penge tak!" - new folder on discoloured banknotes, 12 August.
Financial sectors in EU Accession Countries
REPORT - The European Central Bank (ECB) on Monday 19 August released a publication entitled "Financial sectors in EU accession countries". This publication describes the structure and functioning of the financial sectors of the 12 countries that are…
ECB Working Paper Series
RESEARCH - "An estimated stochastic dynamic general equilibrium model of the euro area", by Frank Smet and Raf Wouters, August 2002. The paper concludes that there is a considerable degree of price and wage stickiness in the euro area. The paper also…
Speech by C Popa, National Bank of Romania, 16 May
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Romania - Closer to the Euro' Cristian Popa, Vice-Governor of the National Bank of Romania, concluded that progress had been made in nominal and real convergence.
Romania c bank says inflation targeting off course
ROMANIA - Romania's National Bank (BNR) does not have all the necessary means to assume responsibility for attaining a clear inflation target, read the conclusion of a BNR study drafted by the bank's specialists, and coordinated by vice-governor Cristian…
Polish Statute questioned by Banking Supervisor
POLAND - Bank Gospodarki Zywnosciowej (BGZ) statute changes that would give the Polish state treasury a privileged position among shareholders have been challenged by the central bank president Leszek Balcerowicz, who also chairs the Banking Supervisory…
Brazil banks to gain with new central bank rule
BRAZIL - A new regulation that requires banks to increase their deposit reserves with the central bank is expected to cause a gain of nearly 900mn reals (US$291mn) a year for the financial system as a whole, Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo reported.
CLS bank waits on Fed approval for FX settlement
UK - Settlement bank CLS, aiming to provide a global system to cut risk in settling currency deals, hopes for regulatory approval next month for a full commercial start in the last quarter of this year, Reuters reports a spokesman as saying.
Pakistan State Bank directs banks to set up ATM's
PAKISTAN - State Bank of Pakistan has directed all the domestic banks either to establish at least two auto-cash telling machine (ATMs) or join the existing Switch Network to ensure payment of salaries to government employees through ATM system.