Central Banking
Glenn Stevens tipped as new RBA dep gov
ARTICLE - Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant Governor Glenn Stevens is the clear favorite among a small field of contenders to fill the shoes of Deputy Governor Stephen Grenville, who retires 30 November.
Speech by John Townend, Director for Europe
SPEECH - Speech by John Townend, Director for Europe at a British Bankers' Association Conference, London on 5 November.
Speech by Joseph Yam, Chief Executive of the HKMA
SPEECH - Speech by Joseph Yam, JP, Chief Executive, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, 5 November. Briefing to the Legislative Council Panel on Financial Affairs.
Fed expected to cut rates by another half-point
US - The US Federal Reserve is poised to cut interest rates today for the tenth time this year, extending its most aggressive rate-cutting campaign in recent history amid yet more evidence of proliferating weakness in the world's economic power.
Asian nations agree free-trade zone
ASIA - South East Asian nations and China have agreed to set up the world's biggest free-trade area within 10 years.
Consumer spending falls in Japan
JAPAN - Japanese households spent less in September in spite of falling prices and government attempts to boost consumer spending, official figures show.
Indonesia - The central bank's saga
ARTICLE - This article examines recent events involving Bank Indonesia, the central bank of Indonesia. The article was published before Sjahril Sabirin, governor of the bank, was convicted of fraud on 31 October 2001.
Chicago Fed National Activity Index
REPORT - The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) was virtually unchanged at -1.28 in September. The three-month moving average index (CFNAI-MA3) was -0.95 in September, marking the fifteenth consecutive month that the CFNAI-MA3 was below zero.
US economy "quite weak" in September-Chicago Fed
US - The U.S. economy was "quite weak" and performed below trend for the 15th straight month in September, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said on Monday.
China has no plan to relax foreign bank rule: HKMA
HONG KONG - China said on Tuesday it had no plans to relax its US$20 billion asset-base threshold for foreign banks wanting to open branches in the country, according to a Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) spokesman.
Eurozone inflation dip may smooth ECB move
EUROPE - Annual inflation in the eurozone dipped to 2.4 per cent last month from 2.5 per cent in September, according to a provisional estimate released Monday.
IMF cuts forecast for growth in France
FRANCE - The International Monetary Fund, blaming the effects of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US, has cut its forecast for French economic growth next year to around 1.6 per cent from an earlier prediction of 2.1 per cent.
Top officials sue Polish central bank for back pay
POLAND - The members of the bank's 10-strong Monetary Policy Council (MPC) say that recently published details of the remuneration of Polish central bankers show they have been underpaid for the past three years.
Georgia National Bank's reserves raised
GEORGIA - With the receiving of new credit from the International Monetary Fund, currency reserves of National Bank of Georgia had raised to 141.8 million dollars.
Ottawa's plan for G-20 security is out of sight
ARTICLE - Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 nations, along with officials of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, will go underground when they congregate here next week. Literally.
Bulgarian mint to be split from central bank
BULGARIA - The mint of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), which prints Bulgarian levs, will be split from the BNB and transformed into a state-owned joint stock company as of 2002.
Kuwait's central bank upgrades its internet site
KUWAIT - Kuwait's Central Bank (CBK) has launched its upgraded Internet site, accessible at www.cbk.gov.kw, CBK Governor, Sheikh Salem Abdul Aziz al Sabah, said on 5 November 2001.
Speech by Hermann Remsperger of the Bundesbank
SPEECH - Speech by Professor Hermann Remsperger, Member of the Directorate of the Deutsche Bundesbank at the Summit of Financial Journalists in Frankfurt on 29 October.
Report casts doubt on how Italy qualified for euro
ITALY - The government of a European Union country - understood to be Italy - used the derivatives market to camouflage the true size of its budget deficit so that it could be admitted to the European single currency, according to a report.
Early euro vote for UK in doubt
UK - Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the UK, Gordon Brown poured cold water yesterday on expectations the British government was leaning toward holding a referendum on joining the European single currency during the current parliament.
BOJ Suda - Weak yen is remedy to stop price falls
JAPAN - Bank of Japan board member Miyako Suda said Monday she believes a weak yen is an appropriate remedy to stop Japan's price declines.
Russia's Gokhran to buy gold for central bank
RUSSIA - Russian precious metals depository Gokhran will buy 40 metric tons of gold in 2002 from domestic commercial banks for the Central Bank of Russia's reserves, Gokhran official Valery Goncharov told reporters Monday.
Italy denies tricks to qualify for euro
ITALY - Italy on Monday denied a report that it had used complicated derivatives to hide the true size of its 1997 budget deficit to qualify for membership of the euro currency.
Error rate high with euro notes trial in France
FRANCE - Two months before euro notes and coins come into circulation, the financial community is concerned that cashiers in shops and banks will not be ready to use euros and detect fake notes from 1 January.