Central Banking
IMF Moscow talks progress, stop short of approval
The International Monetary Fund said on Feb 16, 2001 its latest talks did not attain the approval Russia needed to start negotiations on restructuring Paris Club debt. Its discussions in Moscow had yielded "significant progress", however. Officials had…
Mongolia January inflation jumps 5.5 pct from Dec
Mongolia said on Feb 16, 2001 its monthly inflation jumped 5.5 percent in January 2001 compared with December 2000, mainly because of a rise in food and energy prices. The central bank's Monthly Bulletin of Statistics said the rent and energy price index…
Philippine c.bank leaves rates unchanged
The Philippine central bank decided on Feb 16, 2001 to keep its benchmark overnight interest rates unchanged, saying it preferred to monitor U.S. Federal Reserve moves on rates in the next couple of weeks before acting. The key rates were last reduced by…
Zimbabwe reneges on pledge to limit RBZ overdraft
The Zimbabwe government, caught between the need to reduce the cost of its domestic borrowings and its insatiable appetite for funds to fund its recurrent expenditure, plans to waive the 20 percent limit on its overdraft facility at the central bank as…
IMF publishes codes for transparency
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has established a section on its public website (http://www.imf.org/hrd/index.htm) dedicated to highlighting guidelines and issues related to staff ethics, financial disclosure and dispute resolution.
New FRBNY research on exchange rates and wages
New research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York by Linda Goldberg and Joseph Tracylooks at the effects of exchange rate fluctuations across the population - important in increasingly globalized economies. They offer an explanation of the…
Financial innovation conference at the FRBNY
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is holding a conference on financial innovation and monetary transmission on April 5-6, 2001
New research from CEPR
Summaries of new discussion papers from the Centre for Economic Policy Research can be obtained on the CEPR website at www.cepr.org
British public see EMU membership as inevitable
According to a new poll reported by GrahamBishop.com, the British public sees EMU membership as inevitable by 2010 and the government is expected to take the lead on pushing for the benefits of EMU participation. The report also contends there has been a…
Argentine central bank president under fire
The bicameral congressional committee that will recommend whether Argentine central bank head Pedro Pou should be removed from office for allegedly turning a blind eye to money laundering activities in Argentina will meet for the first time on Feb 20,…
Yugo cbank gets more control with new payment plan
Yugoslavia's central bank said on Feb 16, 2001 its proposal to re-establish foreign currency payments between Serbia and parts of Yugoslavia not using the dinar would allow it to regain control over money transfers countrywide. "Payments will be made…
Bulgaria's BNB in dispute with Mileti Mladenov
The Bulgarian National Bank and the Deposit Guarantee Fund got involved in a strange dispute when the draft law on bank insolvency was discussed by the parliamentary legal committee. The reason for the dispute was that Mileti Mladenov, head of the Fund,…
Indian industry cheers central bank's rate cuts
Indian industry cheered the central bank's decision on Feb 16, 2001 to lower interest rates, saying it would help ease the country's industrial slowdown. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it was cutting its benchmark bank rate to 7.5 percent from 8.0…
Norway downplays cbank critique of state ownership
Reaction in Norway's Labour government to central bank governor Svein Gjedrem's sharp criticism of state ownership in Norwegian companies has been muted so far. A spokeswoman for the Finance Ministry said Feb 16, 2001 there are no plans to issue an…
Thai PM-no interference with cbank-Somkid fin min
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his finance minister-designate Somkid Jatusripitak assured investors late on Feb 16 that the incoming government won't intervene in commercial bank interest rates or central bank regulation of financial…
Colombian cbank leaves mon pol unchanged
Colombia's central bank board on Feb 16, 2001 said it wouldn't change monetary policy as recent inflation figures are satisfactory and future goals look attainable. "Given the good performance of the observed and projected inflation rate, the board of…
Irish cbank governor nominated for another term
Ireland's Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy on Feb 16, 2001 said he has formally asked the president of Ireland, Mary McAleese, to re-appoint Maurice O'Connell as governor of the Central Bank of Ireland for another seven-year term. O'Connell, 65,…
Large value Taiwan note will not trigger inflation
The issuance of a new NT$2,000 note in July 2001 will not trigger inflation, a financial official said Feb 16, 2001. In an attempt to allay fears that the debut of the large-denominated note will accelerate inflation, Wu Shaw-chii, director-general of…
Grey Areas in Central Banking- HKMA's Joseph Yam
How far should the HKMA involve itself in two grey areas that are receiving an increasing amount of public attention: consumer protection in the banking industry, and the development of retail payment systems? Joseph Yam, chief executive of the Hong Kong…
Interview: Charles Goodhart
In a wide-ranging interview, Professor Charles Goodhart gives his views on the main challenges facing central banks today: output gap forecasting and productivity shifts, and the role of asset prices and the exchange rate in monetary policy. He also…
'Suing the BIS'- by William Hall
William Hall of the Financial Times reports on the difficulties the Bank for International Settlements has got into as it struggles to counter the accusation that the price it has offered to buy back its shares from the private sector is "absurdly low".
Interview: Women in central banks
Is central banking still a male preserve? Or do women have more opportunities to get to the top in central banking than in other professions? We look at the growing role of women in central banking - and the problems they face - through the experiences…
O'Neill signals hands-off stance on world economy
Paul O'Neill, the U.S. Treasury secretary, on Feb 14, 2001 indicated the new Bush administration would take a strongly skeptical view of official intervention in global markets to help stabilize the world economy, the Financial Times reported in its Feb…
Interview: BoE's MPC member Sushil Wadhwani
Sushil Wadhwani, an "external" member of the monetary policy committee of the Bank of England, explains why he is a "productivity optimist". Over the last decade, forecasters have systematically underestimated GDP growth in the UK and simultaneously…