US dollar
IMF flags concern over Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s governance
IMF cites severe governance failings as Zimbabwe’s central bank maintains Gideon Gono as chair of its new governing board.
Foreign holdings of US Treasuries fall for second straight week
Data show holdings of US Treasuries by foreign central banks with accounts at the Federal Reserve declined for a second successive week; use of swap lines lower than expected
Venezuela tightens grip on FX in bid to close down unofficial market
Central Bank of Venezuela to attempt to curb the depreciation of the bolivar by taking control of foreign exchange
The case for reserve currency competition
A competitive market for reserve currencies would help remove global imbalances, says Ousmène Mandeng
A future for the SDR?
Richard Cooper looks at whether the SDR could substitute for the dollar as a global reserve currency
Central banks in biggest US Treasury sell-off for three years
Federal Reserve data shows foreign holders of US treasuries moved away from the dollar
NY Fed: foreign exchange swap lines smoothed disruptions in overseas markets
A New York Federal Reserve review shows swap lines enhanced the ability of central banks to provide dollar funding
Taiwan to scrutinise lending on hot money fears: reports
Official from Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) reportedly says lenders’ foreign currency loans will be inspected for signs of speculation on currency
IMF: dollarisation minimises central bank functions
IMF paper offers guidance on dollarisation of currency using past experiences
China must choose either stable prices or currency: PBoC adviser
Newly-appointed Chinese central bank adviser Zhou Qiren says the central bank cannot have a dual mandate of price and exchange-rate stability
Pressure mounts on China to let yuan appreciate
Renminbi revaluation whispers grow to a shout as US Treasury chief Timothy Geithner makes unscheduled visit amid signs of a thaw in relationship with Beijing
Gold could play solid stability role
World Gold Council's George Milling-Stanley pushes for Basel III and SDR to be gold plated
IMF calls for Zimbabwe to scrap governing board
Fund acknowledges success of multi-currency regime at close of Article IV consultation
Euro should not covet reserve role
Panellists in CentralBanking.com web seminar say becoming a reserve currency would hamper recovery
Bank of Canada adapts Black-Scholes model
Bank of Canada uses an adaptation of the Black-Scholes to forecast foreign exchange risks between the US and Canada.
Bank of Israel back in the black by $374m
Israeli central bank declares a modest profit for last year, following $160m loss in 2008 and $1.4 billion loss the year previous
The US banking practices falling behind
Boston Fed study urges US to invest more in payments technology to cope with the demands of the digital age
IMF highlights risks of FX swaps
IMF paper finds that the use of foreign exchange (FX) swaps for funding and hedging purposes is not as infallible as previously thought, especially in periods of market stress
China to drop dollar peg “sooner or later”: Zhou
Chinese central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan hints the country will soon remove the dollar peg on its currency, analysts see a slow and steady revaluation rather than large one-off move
Ghana’s Amissah-Arthur explains early 2009 hike
Bank of Ghana governor Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur says the West African country’s government has made vital progress in cutting spending, allowing key rates to be lowered
IMF should have come to emerging markets’ rescue: DSK
International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn says it should have been the Fund, not the Fed and other central banks, which provided swap lines to emerging markets in the crisis
Harare will keep multi-currency system till 2012: minister
Economic planning minister says the country will continue using the rand, dollar and pula among others for the time being
US debt ratio drives international exchange rates: Bank of Canada
A Bank of Canada paper posits that the debt to GDP ratio in the US and commodity prices have great impact on bilateral exchange rates
Hong Kong and Indonesia link settlement systems
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Bank Indonesia adopt a real time payment-versus-payment link to remove settlement risk