Central Banking
Norges Bank keeps interest rates unchanged
PRESS RELEASE - Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank's Executive Board meeting on 10 April. Norges Bank's key interest rate, the sight deposit rate, therefore remains at 6.50 per cent. The overnight lending rate also remains unchanged.
IMF World Economic Outlook
REPORT - World Economic and Financial Surveys, Recessions and Recoveries, April 2002.
Japan cautioned by IMF on deflation fight
JAPAN - The International Monetary Fund Tuesday cautioned the Japanese Government not to slacken its efforts to combat deflation and structural problems, warning that additional steps were necessary to combat serious weaknesses in the world's second…
Supervision seminar to be hosted by c bank of Oman
OMAN - Hamoud bin Sanjoor al Zedjali, Executive President of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO), inaugurated at the CBO on Sunday a regional seminar on supervisory developments and practices in the banking sector.
Danish business expects Euro entry within 3 years
DENMARK - Danish managers expect Denmark to be join the euro by 2005 according to a poll by Green Analyseintitute carried out for the Danish business daily, Borsen.
Russian gov't seeks central bank draft law changes
RUSSIA - The Russian government will press for a revision of a number of amendments to the draft law on the Central Bank the State Duma (lower house) proposed Friday, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin has said.
Bank's inner circle and its Outer Mongolia
FEATURE - The Bank of England is the City's Kremlin. From time to time figures appear on the balcony above its windowless walls, and the watchers must try to calculate whose stock is up and who has been posted to Outer Mongolia. There is no doubt that…
Korean financial supervisory system to be assessed
SOUTH KOREA - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are expected to evaluate Korea's progress in establishing effective frameworks for supervising banks, insurers and securities firms during a 14-day assessment program on the country's…
Greenspan's heir apparent stays cryptic
FEATURE - Judging by his refusal to provide a direct answer to a straightforward question, John Taylor is on track to become the next chairman of the US Federal Reserve writes Stephen Romei in The Australian on Monday.
Supervision expert to head new German regulator
GERMANY - German Finance Minister Hans Eichel will appoint banking supervision expert Jochen Sanio later this month to head Germany's new financial markets super-regulator, German media reported on Saturday.
Russian c banker in court for abuse of office
RUSSIA - The Zamoskvoretskiy intermunicipal court in Moscow begins proceedings in the criminal case involving Aleksandr Alekseyev, deputy head of the Russian Central Bank's main territorial directorate for Moscow, ITAR-TASS reports.
Steep rise in Argentine inflation expected
ARGENTINA - Prices will rise 45 percent this year in Argentina, Deputy Economy Minister Jorge Todesca said in an interview published in Pagina 12 newspaper on Sunday.
Iran judiciary says has no plans to try ministers
IRAN - Iran's judiciary denied on Sunday persistent media reports it planned to summon Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh and Central Bank Governor Mohsen Nourbakhsh to court to face corruption charges.
Speech by Eva Srejber of Sveriges Riksbank, 9 Apr
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Experiences from the cash changeover in the euro area' Srejber says we have alot to learn from the twelve countries who have already implemented the introduction of the euro and this will be of considerable assistance in…
Speech by Sheryl Kennedy of Bank of Canada, 5 Apr
SPEECH - In a speech titled 'The Bank of Canada's Contribution to the Canadian Economy' Kennedy said that the central bank and economy have come through some major international financial disturbances recently and some valuable lessons have been learned…
Bangladesh to close 500 bank branches
BANGLADESH - The central bank in Bangladesh has disclosed a plan to close down 500 branches of state owned commercial banks which were incurring losses over the last five years.
Central Bank changes worry forex market
UGANDA - The forex market has been unnerved by Bank of Uganda's decision to intervene discreetly rather than announce its specific actions in the market.
Wim's wait
FEATURE - The European Central Bank is extending its "wait and see" policy from interest rates to the equally delicate matter of high-level appointments, reported Friday's FT in London.
New BOJ policy members tread conventional lines
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan's newly appointed board members adopted a conventional line on monetary policy in their debut public appearance on Friday, in stark contrast to a maverick pro-easing member whom they replaced.
Fed's Broaddus - Fed committed to price stability
US - US Federal Reserve policymakers aren't "resting on our laurels" with regard to their primary goal of price stability, said Alfred Broaddus, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
Agency under attack over bad debts in Japan
JAPAN - Japan has been too slow to clear up the bad debt problem plaguing its banking sector, Masajuro Shiokawa, finance minister, has said.
Speech by Svein Gjedrem of Norges Bank, 20 Mar
SPEECH - "The effects of the global downturn on the activity level in Norway have been limited," Svein Gjedrem said in a speech prepared for ambassadors stationed in Norway. The speech was titled 'The inflation target and the floating krone: The…
Speech by J Alfred Broaddus, Richmond Fed, 4 Apr
SPEECH - Richmond Federal Reserve President Alfred Broaddus said in a speech titled 'Comments on the Changing Economic Outlook' on Thursday the U.S. economic outlook is "considerably" better than six months ago, but that final demand is crucial for…
Taiwan has third largest currency reserve in world
TAIWAN - Taiwan's currency reserves continue to accumulate and at the end of March they reached the historic level of $128.03 billion, the island's Central Bank announced on Friday.