Central Banking
BoJ new board member against targeting exch rate
JAPAN - The newest member of the Bank of Japan's Policy Board said on Apr 2, 2001 she was neither a monetary policy hawk nor a dove, but questioned whether orthodox policy could loosen deflation's debilitating grip on the economy.
GSIC cuts investments in tech companies
SINGAPORE - The Government of Singapore Investment Corp has reduced its interests in Malaysia's technology sector in the face of sluggish US demand for the country's electronics products.
South Korea's FX reserves dip to $94.44bn
SOUTH KOREA - The South Korea's foreign exchange reserves dipped by $890 million from a month earlier to $94.44 billion as of late Mar 2001, falling for the fourth straight month, the Bank of Korea said Apr 2.
Pakistan cbank announce measures to boost reserves
PAKISTAN - Pakistan's central bank on Mar 31, 2001 announced measures to boost its foreign exchange reserves, a day after the International Monetary Fund released fresh money under a standby credit agreement.
CFA franc withstood Ivorian turmoil - central bank
IVORY COAST - The CFA franc used by eight West African states stood up well to the turmoil in Ivory Coast after a December 1999 army coup and remains a solid currency, the head of the countries' common central bank said on Mar 31, 2001.
New details on National Bank of Ukraine scandal
UKRAINE - New details have been provided on the charges of financial impropriety against the former deputy chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, Volodymyr Bondar.
Is the crisis problem growing more severe?
ARTICLE - In the latest issue of journal Economic Policy, economist Barry Eichengreen et al ask whether financial crises are becoming more frequent and more disruptive. Looking back over 120 years of financial history, the authors find that there is …
IMF is 'well equipped to tackle crises'
ARTICLE - In a letter to the editor of The Straits Times, the IMF's director of external relations, Thomas Dawson, hits back at the newspaper's suggestions that the IMF's policies in Asia, Russia and now Turkey have been failures.
Central bank independence in Poland from 1924-26
ARTICLE - In an article in Public Budgeting & Finance, Gail Makinen from the Congress Library looks at the success of Poland's 1924-26 stabilisation plan. She concludes that a balanced budget may be more important to achieving price stability than…
Credibility of Colombia's exchange rate target
ARTICLE - In a fairly technical article in the Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Arturo Jose Galindo from the Inter-American Development Bank analyses the credibility of Colombia's exchange rate target zone. His results suggest that there is…
Trichet casts doubt over ECB rate cut on Apr 11
EUROPE - Following a Franco-German meeting of finance ministers and central bankers, fresh doubt was cast on the prospects for an interest rate reduction when the ECB next meets on Apr 11, 2001.
Nepal defence minister quits over cbank chief
NEPAL - Nepali Defence Minister Mahesh Acharya quit the government late on Mar 29, 2001 after the Himalayan kingdom's highest court reversed an earlier decision of his to dismiss the central bank governor.
Gaspari - Slovenia's new central bank governor
SLOVENIA - On Apr 1, Mitja Gaspari begins a six year term as governor of the Bank of Slovenia, replacing France Arhar, who headed the central bank for 10 years.
RBI dividend up 52% contains fiscal deficit
INDIA - A steep increase of over 51 per cent in the dividend payouts by Reserve Bank of India will help the Indian government to contain the fiscal deficit within 5.1 per cent.
Hayami justifies radical monetary easing in March
JAPAN - Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami on Mar 30, 2001 raised the spectre of weak demand tipping the world's second-largest economy into a destructive deflationary spiral.
Brazil cbank forecasts inflation at 4.8% in 2001
BRAZIL - Brazilian inflation, as registered by the IPCA index, should reach 4.8 percent in 2001, above initial forecasts but within government targets, the central bank said Mar 30, 2001.
Iceland considering inflation target for two years
ICELAND - Iceland adopted an inflation target on Mar 28, 2001. Mar Gudmundsson, chief economist of the central bank, said to CentralBankNet that discussions about an inflation target had been going on for two years.
Zambia cbank-debt relief conditions must be met
ZAMBIA - Zambia's central bank warned on Mar 30, 2001 that the southern African country faced a very difficult environment if it failed to meet conditions for a $3.8 billion debt relief package.
Belarus, Russia can adopt single currency by 2005
RUSSIA - Viktor Gerashchenko, head of the Russian Central Bank, said during his visit to Mahilyow on Mar 30 that Belarus and Russia could adopt a single currency before 2005 provided there were necessary economic conditions.
Central Bank of Malaysia - Annual Report 2000
MALAYSIA - On Mar 28, 2001, Bank Negara Malaysia released its annual report for 2000. A list of content and a link to the annual report on the BNM website is available. There is a chapter in the report devoted to Malaysia's Finanical Sector Masterplan.
HKMA Joseph Yam updates his cyberfable
HONG KONG - In March 2000, Joseph Yam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, presented the first part of his popular satirical internet story. In his weekly viewpoint column published on the HKMA website today, Yam brings up to date with…
Measurement of price indices-ECB seminar Nov 01
CENTRAL BANK SEMINAR - The ECB/CEPR are hosting a joint seminar on "Issues in the Measurement of Price Indices" in November/December 2001. It is being organised by MIT's Ernst Berndt, ECB head of research Vitor Gaspar and Dietmar Harhoff from Munich…
Macroeconomic Instability and Coordination
BOOK - Axel Leijonhufvud, Professor of Economics at the University of California, has published a book "Macroeconomic Instability and Coordination", a collection of selected essays. There is a press release by the publishers Edward Elgar and a list of…
'Does Money Matter?' by US Fed Governor Meyer
SPEECH - US Federal Reserve Board governor Laurence H. Meyer gave an excellent and wide-ranging speech on Mar 28, 2001 titled "Does Money Matter?". He says monetarism supeficially appears to play no role in the conduct of monetary policy in many…