Central Banking
Soros says central banks should bailout Brazil
ARTICLE - In the wake of the current economic crisis in Brazil, George Soros has said that leading central banks should open their discount windows and refinance the holders of Brazilian debt. Indeed, he expressed surprise that central banks had not…
Intervention pushes dollar back above 120
UK - The dollar surged back over 120 against the yen on Friday and made headway against the euro after Japan's finance ministry confirmed it had asked other central banks to intervene on its behalf to help weaken the Japanese currency.
HKMA chiefs are overpaid, study finds
HONG KONG - Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) chief Joseph Yam is one of many high ranking officials who may be forced to take pay cuts of at least 12 per cent if their governing boards endorse the recommendations of a pay study.
Has the fourth euro entry test already been passed
UK - In all the coverage of Gordon Brown's Mansion House speech on Wednesday night, it went largely unnoticed that he had in effect declared that one of the five tests for euro entry had been passed. Friday's Financial Times picked up on the story.
Speech by Edward George, Bank of England, 26 Jun
SPEECH - In his annual Mansion House speech George gave a strong signal that interest rates would not be raised at next week's meeting of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee and welcomed the fall in the pound against the euro.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bulletin, June 2002
REPORT - The Reserve Bank released the June 2002 issue of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bulletin on Thursday.
Federal Reserve Board Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to keep its target for the federal funds rate unchanged at 1 3/4 percent, 26 June.
Meet Europe's Next Central Bank Chief
ARTICLE - He's Frenchman Jean-Claude Trichet, who has already been ordained to succeed Wim Duisenberg at the ECB in July 2003 reports BusinessWeek Online.
ECB statistical press release
PRESS RELEASE - Monetary developments in the euro area, May 2002 released 27 June.
Bank of England Financial Stability Review
REPORT - Bank of England Publishes Financial Stability Review, Issue 12, June 2002, 27 June.
27th Annual Economic Policy Conference
CONFERENCE - Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Finance and Real Economic Activity Conference, 7-8 November 2002.
Argentine central bank may issue up to 7 bln pesos
ARGENTINA - The central bank's new chairman, Aldo Pignanelli, has drafted a new monetary plan under which the central bank will issue up to 7 bln pesos to rescue commercial banks experiencing liquidity problems, newspaper Clarin reported.
South Korean central bank to open office in China
SOUTH KOREA - The Bank of Korea has agreed to set up a representative office in Beijing, China, with its Chinese counterpart, the People's Bank of China, the Korean central bank said Thursday.
Russian Duma overrides bank law veto
RUSSIA - Russia's State Duma has overridden the Federation Council's veto on the law on the Central Bank [CBR], with 389 deputies voting for the original version of the bill, while 300 votes would be enough to make the decision.
Brazil may widen inflation target's 2 point band
BRAZIL - The finance ministry and the central bank may decide to widen the existing two-percentage points leeway above the inflation target set by the central bank, financial daily Valor Economico reported.
Malaysia to introduce smart cards next year
MALAYSIA - While commercial banks will reimburse those who had money illegally withdrawn from automated teller machines, Bank Negara has directed banks to replace magnetic strips with chip technology from next year.
Black rivals aim to take the shine off gold cards
UK - When it comes to credit cards, black is the new gold reported Tuesday's Financial Times. National Westminster Bank has launched the first of a new class of premium cards aimed at the country's highest earners and designed to leave the gold card…
IMF - Polish central bank has room for more easing
US - The Polish central bank has room to ease monetary policy further, after its half percentage point rate cut on Wednesday, the IMF said, with some IMF directors urging a more ambitious rate cut strategy.
IMF Working Paper No. 02/101
RESEARCH - 'Structural Balances and All That: Which Indicators to Use in Assessing Fiscal Policy' by Nigel Chalk, Fiscal Affairs Department, examines structural indicators of a country's fiscal position and evalutes their usefulness in measuring the size…
IMF increases stand-by credit to Uruguay by $1.5bn
URUGUAY - The IMF today increased its current Stand-By Credit to Uruguay by about $1.5bn to about $2.28bn. Uruguay may draw up to $508m immediately. A further $650 million will become available under the augmented Stand-By Arrangement during the…
ECB Working Paper No. 155
RESEARCH - ECB Working Paper 'Youth unemployment in the OECD: demographic shifts, labour market institutions, and macroeconomic shocks' by Juan F. Jimeno and Diego Rodriguez-Palenzuela, June 2002. It gauges the relevance of the relative size of…
The slowdown of HK dollar broad money growth
RESEARCH - The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has published research on 'The Slowdown of Hong Kong Dollar Broad Money Growth' by Kitty Lai and Joanna, Yen Ling Shi. It examines the factors leading to the slowdown of broad money growth from about 5% in…
A small macroeconomic model of Hong Kong
RESEARCH - The Hong Kong monetary Authority has published 'A Small Macroeconomic Model of Hong Kong' by Jiming Ha, Cynthia Leung and Chang Shu,June 2002.
Bank of Japan monetary policy decision
PRESS RELEASE - At the Monetary Policy Meeting held today, the Bank of Japan decided, by unanimous vote, to leave the guideline for money market operations for the intermeeting period unchanged.