Speech
Standards and Codes-A tool for growth- IMF Koehler
SPEECH - Horst Kohler, managing director of the IMF, gave a interesting speech titled "Standards and Codes - A Tool for Growth and Financial Stability" on Mar 7, 2001, at a joint IMF/World Bank Conference on International Standards and Codes. He outines…
Efficient payments in the euro area-Wellink speech
Opening address by Dr A.H.E.M. Wellink, President of De Nederlandsche Bank NV, on the occasion of the "5th conference on pan-European cash & treasury management", held in Amsterdam on Mar 6 2001.
Banking supervision-Alan Greenspan speech
Alan Greenspan said on Mar 7 it was not surprising that a weaker economy was making bankers wary about lending, but he urged them not to go overboard. "Lenders and their supervisors should be mindful that in their zeal to make up for past excesses they…
Yen crashes to 20-month lows against dollar
The yen fell beyond 120 to the dollar for the first time in 20 months on Mar 7, 2001 as expectation grew that Japan would tolerate a weaker yen to bolster its flagging economy.
The New Basel Capital Proposal -Fed Meyer speech
US Federal Reserve Governor Laurence H. Meyer gave a speech on "The New Basel Capital Proposal" at the Annual Washington Conference of the Institute of International Bankers on Mar 5. Meyer says that the Basel proposal may be complex and at times…
Greenspan testimony-unsure about consumer optimism
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan offered a gloomier assessment of the U.S. economic outlook when he testified to the House Financial Services Committee on Feb 28, 2001, suggesting he no longer is sure that consumer confidence is strong enough to…
Understanding financial consolidation-Fed Ferguson
US Federal Reserve vice chairman Roger Ferguson gave a speech on Feb 27 titled "Understanding Financial Consolidation" at a conference sponsored by the Securities Industry Association. In the speech, he presented the results of a major study commissioned…
Lessons from Japan's Experience in Monetary Policy
The chief representative of the Bank of Japan in Frankfurt says in a speech that the 1990s has been a period of learning for the central bank, not as many people say "a lost decade". The bank now has a greater focus on the role of asset prices and the…
Breaking the Cycle of World Poverty-Horst Koehler
Horst Kohler, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund gave a speech at the conference on "Child Poverty, Education, and Health" in London, February 26, 2001. He says he has learnt a lot from his discussions with sub-Saharan African leaders…
MAS chair quizzed on currency, emoney, regulation
Lee Hsein Loong, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Board of the Monetary Authgirty of Singapore, answers parliamentary questions about whether there will be a devaluation of the Singapore dollar, about introducting electronic payment…
ECB's Issing-price risks more balanced, not gone
European Central Bank Chief Economist Otmar Issing reiterated on Feb 21 that while price risk in the euro zone were increasingly balanced some threats to price stability still lingered on.
Cbanks should be pre-emptive - Fed's Gramlich
U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Edward Gramlich said on Feb 20, 2001 central banks had to move preemptively given the time it took for their actions to feed through to the economy. He advocated the use of forward-looking, flexible, inflation targetting as…
Canada's Dodge upbeat on economy in first speech
Nortel Networks Corp, long the darling of the Canadian equities market, may have been grounded but it is unlikely that one company will drag down the rest of the economy, Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge said on Feb 20.
MAS to further open Sing $ swap market from Mar 1
The Monetary Authority of Singapore said on Feb 15, 2001 it will further open the Sing dollar swap market to offshore banks keen to engage in transactions with non-banks to boost liquidity in the wider bond market. Koh Yong Guan, managing director of the…
Fed's Stern sees improved economy in Jan 2001
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Gary Stern said on Feb. 14, 2001 that slower growth in business inventories in December 2000 and improved retail sales and employment data in January 2001 were constructive indicators for the economy. "It…
Ferguson speech-US undergoing inventory adjustment
The U.S. economy "is clearly undergoing a stock adjustment" to reconcile the supply and demand of capital goods, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson said on Feb 14 at a speech at Vanderbilt University. Ferguson said it is unclear how long the…
Bank of Canada cuts growth forecast
Canada's central bank said officially for the first time on Feb 13, 2001 that the U.S. economic slowdown may cut Canada's growth rate to below 3 percent, but it remained positive about the country's economic prospects. "Primarily because of the spillover…
Greenspan said the U.S. was not in recession
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Feb 13, 2001 the U.S. economy was not in a recession but may face a rocky transition as it downshifts from super-charged growth rates of the past several years. When asked point-blank in a Senate Banking…
BIS urges vigilance on asset bubbles
It's time for central bankers to get tough on bubbles, according to a top official at the Bank for International Settlements. Overly high stock and property prices should prompt central bankers to take interest rate action in the same way rising wage…
Fed's Minehan sees 2001 U.S. growth near 2 pct
Boston Federal Reserve President Cathy Minehan said on Feb 12, 2001 she expects U.S. economic growth to start accelerating again later in 2001, helped by the central bank's January 2001 rate cuts."I expect activity to increase later in the year, and…
ECB Hamalainen-Eurozone needs structural changes
The euro zone still needs to make further strides in structural changes if it is to see a potential economic growth rate similar to that of the U.S., European Central Bank executive board member Sirkka Haemaelaeinen said on Feb 12, 2001. "Certainly, we…
Swedish Riksbank says rate policy right for now
Sweden's central bank said on Feb 9, 2001 inflation prospects were favourable and its inflation target achievable in coming years, and there was no need right now for further monetary policy measures."Today, inflation prospects seem to be favourable,"…
Suranyi cites record of six years of econ growth
In his farewell speech on Feb. 8, 2001 National Bank of Hungary (NBH) president Gyorgy Suranyi emphasized the sustainable growth achieved in Hungary since 1996. Speaking at a press conference in Budapest, Mr Suranyi, whose term expires on March 1,…
Burst IT-bubble temporary setback - Swedish c.bank
The information technology revolution will continue - despite the collapse of many IT stocks in 2000 - with unforseeable consequences for future economic policy, Sweden's central bank said on Feb 7, 2001. Riksbank governor Urban Backstrom made it clear…