Central Banking
S Africa c bank reiterate difference with Zimbabwe
SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa's central bank reiterated on Monday the factors that distinguished its economy from neighbouring Zimbabwe, whose woes have dented investor confidence in the region and adversely hit the rand.
Gerashchenko stays with central bank
RUSSIA - Viktor Gerashchenko, former chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, plans to take the post of an economic adviser at the Scientific and Research Institute of the Bank of Russia reports Novecon.
China central bank chief to visit Japan this week
JAPAN - People's Bank of China Governor Dai Xianglong will visit Japan this week to sign a bilateral currency swap pact, Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami said Monday.
Fraga defends more flexible account inviolability
BRAZIL - More flexible rules for breaking bank account inviolability, allied with a solid international cooperation among banks and government financial institutions, is a fundamental weapon to combat money laundering in the world, according to Central…
BNB aims at more effective control of gold reserve
BULGARIA - The board of governors of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) is engaged in continuous debates on the options for a more effective management of Bulgaria's monetary gold reserves, deputy governor Martin Zaimov told reporters.
Phasing out the euro with e-money
FEATURE - Now that the physical euro has been successfully introduced, it is time to press ahead with the next phase - getting rid of the physical euro.
The long and short of it for central banks
FEATURE - Never mind the question about when and how far they should follow the US FOMC. Asian central banks have their hands full at the long end of the curve at the moment.
ECB's Issing says high Greek inflation "worrying"
GREECE - Greece's higher than eurozone average inflation is a "worrying development" that poses problems to Greek competitiveness, European Central Bank Chief Economist Otmar Issing said on Sunday.
Independence vital for Russia's central bank - PM
RUSSIA - Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said the Central Bank of Russia must be independent.
Germany creates super-regulator, reform Bundesbank
GERMANY - Germany's parliament agreed on Friday to sweeping changes on how the country's financial markets are supervised and run and, against expectations, passed a law that will shrink management at the once-mighty Bundesbank, report Reuters.
Welteke flags Buba may sell gold, buy stocks
GERMANY - Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke on Monday surprised central bank watchers by signalling the bank might consider selling part of its gold reserves and reinvesting the proceeds in shares as well as in bonds.
ECB urges independence of central banks
UK - For central and eastern European countries keen to enter the eurozone, the European Central Bank has a message: be patient, continue to pursue economic reforms and, at all costs, do not undermine the independence of your central banks.
Facelift for the greenback
US - Redback, pinkback, and blueback may not have quite the same ring as greenback. Nevertheless, US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill is considering plans to replace the famously green hue of dollar notes with a rainbow of seven different colours.
Speech by T Padoa-Schioppa of the ECB, 21 Mar
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Accession Countries on the Way to the Euro: A Central Banker's View' Padoa-Schioppa said a carefully chosen timeframe for euro adoption by new members after they join the EU would ensure that fighting inflation would not…
Federal Open Market Committee Meeting - Minutes
MINUTES - The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday released the minutes of its Federal Open Market Committee Meeting from 29-30 January 2002, released 21 March.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand News Release
NEWS RELEASE - OCR increased to 5 per cent, 20 March.
Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Meetings, 20 March
NEWS RELEASE - At the Monetary Policy Meeting held today, the Bank of Japan decided, by majority vote, to maintain the following guideline for money market operations for the intermeeting period:
HKMA Quarterly Bulletin - February 2002
REPORT - The Quarterly Bulletin (QB) carries regular reporting and analyses on the policies of the HKMA's key activities in fulfilling its central banking functions and provides a forum for the HKMA to explain its philosophy and policies, particularly…
Fed discussed dropping its tilt towards rate cuts
US - The Federal Reserve considered "unconventional" actions at its January monetary policy meeting in case its anti-recession campaign did not work and discussed abandoning its official leaning towards cutting short-term interest rates, minutes released…
Argentine peso falls as c bank gears to sell debt
ARGENTINA - Argentina's peso (ARS) opened weaker Friday as the central bank began selling money-market instruments in pesos and dollars to curb the currency's fall.
ECB net profit declines by 8.5% partly on US rates
GERMANY - The European Central Bank Thursday reported a net profit of 1.82 billion euros in 2001, down 8.5% from 1.99 billion euros the preceding year.
Duma appoints new central bank chair
RUSSIA - The Duma approved resignation of Victor Gerashchenko from the post of the Central Bank Chair. Duma deputies also awarded Gerashchenko with an honorable diploma, and Chair of the Duma Gennady Seleznev presented the diploma to him. The Duma…
Rerngchai fights negligence charge
THAILAND - Former governor of the Bank of Thailand Rerngchai Marakanond yesterday submitted his defence to the Civil Court on charges that he was "severely negligent" in his duties relating to the defence of the baht, causing Bt186 billion in damage to…
Japan slump 'slowing'
JAPAN - The struggling Japanese economy is continuing to deteriorate, but the decline shows signs of slowing down, the country's central bank said on Friday.