Central Banking
Search on for new European Central Bank President
EUROPE - Yesterday, 28 June, Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg confirmed that he was approached about the job, although he said he wouldn't want it. Mr. Juncker's comments are viewed by the media as the first evidence the European Union…
Japanese regulator penalises Goldman
JAPAN - Japanese regulators slapped heavy penalties on Goldman Sachs on 27 June after the US bank admitted it had misquoted prices in the online warrants market in Tokyo, as reported in the FT London.
Charter capital requirements raised for new banks
RUSSIA - The Central Bank of Russia board decided on 26 June to increase the charter capital requirement for new banks.
Grasser-Duisenberg succession talk no help to euro
EUROPE - Austrian Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser said on 29 June that the debate about who will succeed Wim Duisenberg as president of the European Central Bank was not helping the euro.
MOF denies asking BOJ to use inflation targets
JAPAN - Japanese Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa on 29 June played down a media report that government representatives at the Bank of Japan policy board meeting yesterday, 28 June, had put a strong request to the central bank to introduce an inflation…
Third edition of the ECB's "blue book"
EUROPE - The European Central Bank (ECB) is today releasing to the public a report entitled "Payment and securities settlement systems in the European Union", also known as the "Blue Book".
Federal Reserve cuts rates, by less than expected
US - Alan Greenspan, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board chairman and Federal Reserve governors, ended a two-day meeting yesterday, 27 June, by reducing interest rates, but only by a quarter of a percentage point, instead of the half-point cut that some…
Interest rate moves around the world
FEATURE - Yesterday, 27 June, the Federal Reserve reduced key US interest rates for the sixth time this year. Here we feature other recent interest rates moves around the world (among the other big central banks the Bank of England has held it's rate…
Bank of England - Financial Stability Review
RESEARCH - On 28 June the Bank of England published the latest Financial Stability Review for June 2001. The review contains five articles and the Bank's regular half-yearly assessment of risks to stability.
Comment on the Fed's rate cut decision
UK - The Financial Times in London, 28 June, has published a comment on the US Federal Reserve Board's decision to cut it's key interest rate measure by 0.25 percent.
IMF - Quiet caution for Argentina's currency shift
ARTICLE - Centralbanknet's report on the IMF's Stanley Fischer who has visited Argentina. He has warned that the planned Argentine currency move may set a worrying precedent.
Mobile phone plan may hasten cashless society
EUROPE - The FT in London reports on 28 June that three major mobile phone manufacturers are negotiating with leading banks so that mobile phones can be made to act as a type of creidt card.
Raiding the central bank to pay the deficit, Egypt
ARTICLE - The official figures issued for the budget deficit only tell part of the story about the state of Egypt's finances. A close look at the pattern of government debt over the past three years suggests that the actual fiscal deficit has been in the…
US rate cut to deter Thai outflows - Thai c.bank
THAILAND - The Thai central bank said on 28 June that the Federal Reserve's latest cut in U.S. interest rates would help deter the capital outflows from Thailand.
Bank of Canada outsources 500 jobs
CANADA - The Bank of Canada said on 27 June it has hired Electronic Data Systems Corp. to help run a program that sells Canada Savings Bonds and other types of debt to the public, cutting the central bank's payroll by a third.
Lithuanian c-bank to switch some reserves to euro
LITHUANIA - Lithuania's central bank said on 28 June it would "soon" start exchanging some of its reserves into euro to prepare for the change of the national currency's anchor to the euro from the dollar in February.
Hong Kong Financial Secretary meets ECB President
GERMANY - Hong Kong's Financial Secretary, Mr Antony Leung, held talks on 27 June with the President of the European Central Bank, Mr Willem Duisenberg.
Computer law to fight bank fraud
US - The House Financial Services Committee approved legislation on 27 June that encourages regulators to link computer systems to help crack down on financial fraud.
Fed set for fresh rate cut - but by how much?
US - The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, will announce today, 27 June, whether it has decided to cut interest rates further to boost the flagging American economy.
History of recessions contradicts Greenspan
ARTICLE - David Leonhardt, writing in the New York Times, says that Federal Reserve Board Governor, Alan Greenspan, is wrong to be optimistic about the prospects for the US economy.
NBER - US 'recession' may already have peaked
ARTICLE - In a letter to the editor of the Financial Times in London, Martin Feldstein, President of the National Bureau of Economic Research in the US says that even if a recession occurs it will be a long time before it becomes official.
IMF appoints representative to Bulgaria
BULGARIA - Piritta Sorsa has been appointed as IMF's resident representative to Bulgaria.
New limited company for cash handling in Norway
NORWAY - Norges Bank, Den norske Bank ASA, Gjensidige Nor Sparebank, SpareBank 1 Gruppen AS, Terra-Gruppen AS, Fokus Bank ASA and Nordlandsbanken ASA have founded a joint limited company for cash handling.
Bank of France to cut jobs at banknote facilities
FRANCE - The Bank of France yesterday informed unions of 494 job cuts by 2005 in its banknote production units. The plan, aimed at bringing down the cost of banknote production to improve competitiveness, mainly affects facilities at Chamalieres and Vic…