Central Banking
Yugoslav c bank converts German marks into euros
YUGOSLAVIA - About 7.9 billion German marks have been converted into euros, Yugoslav National Bank Governor Mladjan Dinkic said on Thursday.
Lithuania thwarts mafia attempt to launder money
LITHUANIA - The Bank of Lithuania, the country's central bank, has prevented a large-scale money laundering attempt by declining an application from a French national to make a huge investment in the country's fourth-largest bank, Snoras, Lithuanian…
Argentina central bank denies chairman to resign
ARGENTINA - The central bank has dismissed rumours that the resignation of its chairman, Mario Blejer, was imminent.
Outgoing MPC member criticises B of E rates record
UK - The Bank of England would have delivered a significantly more impressive performance on both growth and inflation if interest rates had been kept lower over the past few years, according to research carried out by Sushil Wadhwani, a soon to depart…
Speech by Glenn Stevens of the RBA, 16 May
SPEECH - Stevens gave a speech titled 'International Economic and Financial Issues: An RBA Perspective' on Thursday and said that the US economy remained the uncertain factor for world growth this year although it was clear a turning point had happened, …
RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement, May 2002
REPORT - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Wednesday published its Monetary Policy Statement for May 2002.
Rapid expansion of OTC derivatives market
REPORT - Regular OTC Derivatives Market Statistics, The Global OTC Derivatives Market at end-December 2001, 15 May.
Speech by V Bergstrom, Sveriges Riksbank, 15 May
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Forecasts and business cycles' Deputy Governor Bergstrom said in recent years the Swedish economy has been subjected to relatively large disturbances. The Asian and Russian crisis, as well as severe fluctuations on the…
Research from the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank
RESEARCH - How High Tech is the Tenth District? by Chad Wilkerson.
World Bank boss visits Afghanistan
AFGHANISTAN - The World Bank's president has reaffirmed his long-term commitment to the development of Afghanistan.
UK's Blair says euro poll 'getting close'
UK - Tony Blair has admitted a referendum on Britain's entry into the single European currency could be "getting close".
Fed's Moskow - Much uncertainty on U.S. recovery
US - Uncertainty lingers over the early shape of the U.S. recovery though the economy is on track for moderate growth and the long-term outlook is good, a Federal Reserve official said on Thursday.
IMF calls for regulating 'hawala' transfers
UAE - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday called on the informal system of overseas money transfers known as "hawala" to be regulated in the interests of the world economy.
Inflation target would have little effect-BOJ Ueda
JAPAN - A member of the Bank of Japan's Policy Board said on Wednesday an inflation-targeting policy would have little effect when the central bank has insufficient policy tools to convince markets such goals could be achieved.
IMF says HK dlr peg good but needs constant review
US - Hong Kong's dollar peg is appropriate for the region's economy, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday, but warned it is a policy that requires constant review.
Strong appeal
FEATURE - An emotional day yesterday for Ian Plenderleith - by Bank of England standards at least. The outgoing head of financial market operations has always been taciturn when helping to unveil the inflation report, reports Thursday's Financial Times.
Polish central bank head ready for gov't dialogue
POLAND - Polish National Bank (NBP) President Leszek Balcerowicz declared on Thursday he was ready for dialogue with the finance minister but believed that structural reforms and securing higher competitiveness were more important than discussions on the…
Argentina central bank chief 'may resign' rumour
ARGENTINA - Rumours that Central Bank Chairman Mario Blejer is considering stepping down were circulating among banks yesterday, newspaper Clarin reported.
Russia's forex reserves hit record 40bn dollars
RUSSIA - Russia's gold and hard currency reserves have broken a new record. The Central Bank of Russia's department of external and public relations announced on Thursday 16 May that they stood at 40bn dollars as of 10 May.
Carr's role settled at RBNZ
NEW ZEALAND - Rod Carr has been confirmed as Acting Governor of the Reserve Bank for the next six months, or until a permanent appointment has been made.
World's smallest ATM machine goes on display
UAE - Dubai-based Quick Line, which delivered a solution to produce labour cards for the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in 1994, has launched the world's smallest ATM called NanoCash.
ECB Occasional Papers Series
RESEARCH - Estimating the trend of M3 income velocity underlying the reference value for monetary growth by C. Brand, D. Gerdesmeier and B. Roffia, May 2002.
Speech by T Padoa-Schioppa of the ECB, 29 Apr
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Competition, co-operation, public action: Three necessary drivers for European financial integration' Padoa-Schioppa expressed the benefits of the euro when saying "Market segmentation - the opposite of integration - is…
Speech by Otmar Issing of the ECB, 29 Apr
SPEECH - In a speech titled 'Monetary Policy in an Environment of Global Financial Markets' Issing said "Understanding global financial linkages is important, not least from the perspective of a central banker. Further integration of European financial…