Central Banking
Koizumi rejoins battle for reform
JAPAN - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has promised to forge ahead with painful reforms to revive the economy despite a sudden drop in his popularity.
Global economy 'recovering'
US - The head of the International Monetary Fund has told a meeting of the World Economic Forum in New York that he believes the world's economy is heading for recovery.
Poorer states urge economic solidarity
US - At last year's gathering of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, there was acknowledgment the global economy stood on the brink of recession.
EU heads of state to decide next no. 2 at ECB
FRANCE - French finance minister Laurent Fabius said Sunday that the issue of who replaces European Central Bank Vice President Christian Noyer at the end of May is a matter for European Union heads of state to decide.
Venezuela's Chavez denies problems banking system
VENEZUELA - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Sunday declared the financial industry solid and healthy after rumours that Venezuela's largest private-sector bank, Banco Provincial, was about to be subjected to intervention by the central bank due to…
Latvia central bank's president nominates deputy
LATVIA - Bank of Latvia president Ilmars Rimsevics has nominated as his deputy Andris Ruselis, the vice-president of Balta and Latva insurance companies, reported the Latvian parliament press service.
China delegates arrive for key financial summit
CHINA - Delegates began arriving Monday at the Great Hall of the People for a crucial policy meeting that will set the financial system reform agenda for the next five years.
Bank of Italy withdrew 50% of liras at end Jan
ITALY - The Bank of Italy has withdrawn just over half of the old liras in circulation with less than a month to go before the currency is to be entirely replaced by euros, Bank Of Italy Governor Antonio Fazio said Saturday.
Federal Open Market Committee Meeting - Minutes
MINUTES - Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee for the 11 December, 2001 meeting released 31 January.
Speech by Lars Heikensten of Sweden's central bank
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Swedish economic policy in the EMU' Lars Heikensten said that participation in European economic and monetary union would be beneficial for the Swedish economy.
Speech by Jarle Bergo, Deputy Governor Norges Bank
SPEECH - In the speech titled '' Jarle Bergo said that "if the growth in the global economy picks up again as we have assumed, we expect consumer price inflation to be about 2.5 percent in two years time."
Transcript of a Press Briefing by Thomas Dawson
PRESS BRIEFING - Thomas Dawson, Director, External Relations Department, International Monetary Fund, 31 January.
States stay on money laundering list
HONG KONG - Nineteen countries and territories are to continue suffering under the stigma of being listed as havens for money laundering.
Turkey woos IMF with reforms
TURKEY - Turkey is due on Friday to finalise a series of reforms to its banking system, deemed to be crucial if the country is to secure further loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Slovak c bank replaces management of supervision
SLOVAKIA - Slovak central bank (NBS) appointed Deposit Protection Fund (FOV) head Milan Horvath as the new chief executive of the NBS banking supervision, replacing Tibor Kasiak, the bank's press department said Friday.
Goodhart talks on central bank independence
UK - Professor Charles Goodhart a former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee made a powerful argument for central bankindependence in a talk at the London School of Economics yesterday, Thursday. A CentralBankNet correspondent was…
Fed minutes suggest rate hikes sooner than thought
US - A clearly recovering economy may allow the Fed to lift interest rates higher sooner, and by a wider margin, than currently projected - simply because the markets are prepared for such a development.
SNB sell 10.3 tons of gold in latest 10-day period
SWITZERLAND - The Swiss National Bank sold around 10.3 metric tons of surplus gold in the 10-day reporting period ended 31 January, the central bank's regular statistical report showed Friday.
Welteke sees no need for rate cuts now - report
PORTUGAL - Current European Central Bank interest rates are appropriate and there is no need for a cut at this time, Bundesbank President and ECB governing council member Ernst Welteke said in a newspaper interview published Friday.
Slovene gov't adopts Bill on the central bank
SLOVENIA - The Slovene government on Thursday adopted the bill on the Bank of Slovenia which aims to harmonise Slovenia's legislation in the field to that of the European Union. The bill has been sent to parliament, where MPs are to discuss it in second…
White House says interviewing Fed candidates
US - The Bush administration is interviewing candidates to fill two vacancies on the powerful seven-member Federal Reserve Board, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.
IMF tells Argentina to cut spending
ARGENTINA - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has returned to Argentina to discuss the framework of a new financial aid package for cash-starved government in Buenos Aires.
US keeps interest rates unchanged
US - The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, has left interest rates unchanged Wednesday at 1.75%, saying signs for an economic recovery were "promising".
Speech by David Dodge, Governor of Bank of Canada
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Inflation Targeting During a Difficult Year' Dodge reiterated his view that the Canadian economy will grow between 1% and 2% in the year's first half and then accelerate. "As I have already noted, it is becoming clearer…