Euro
Interview with National Bank of Slovakia's Sramko
In an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur, published Wednesday 8 November, National Bank of Slovakia governor Ivan Sramko said Slovakia needs to step up efforts if it is to meet its tight deadline for joining the euro in January 2009.
Estonia says euro adoption unlikely before 2010
The Bank of Estonia announced Wednesday 8 November that soaring inflation is likely to set back Estonia's target date for adopting the euro to 2010.
Iceland to strengthen foreign reserves
In recent months, the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Iceland have been engaged in discussions on strengthening the Central Banks foreign reserves, the central bank said Friday 3 November.
PBOC advisor plays down dollar risk to reserves
A senior People's Bank of China advisor has tried to calm fears over risks posed to the country's huge stock of dollar reserves by a slide in the value of the US currency.
Greenspan notes increasing role of the euro
Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said in a speech on Thursday 26 October that both private investors and central banks were moving away from the U.S. dollar in favour of the euro.
Czechs drop plan to adopt euro in 2010
The Czech government has dropped plans to adopt the euro in 2010, noting an outlook for widening budget deficits and rising inflation.
ECB report on EU banking structures
The European Central Bank (ECB) published its annual report on EU banking structures on Thursday 26 October. The report, which has been published each year since 2002, reviews the main structural developments in the EU banking sector in 2005 and until…
France's Breton hopes for ECB rate pause
French finance minister Thierry Breton said in an interview published Wednesday 25 October he hopes for a halt to interest rate hikes by the European Central Bank next year.
Labour productivity developments in the euro area
This European Central Bank Occasional Paper provides a description and a discussion of some important aspects relating to recent productivity developments in the euro area.
Liikanen on Finland, the EMU and the euro
In the speech 'Finland, the EMU and the introduction of the euro' given on 20 October Erkki Liikanen of the Bank of Finland said many of the asymmetric shocks feared by the opponents to Finland's adoption of the euro have already been realised over this…
Sterling sits pretty as volatility vanishes
According to this article from the Financial Times, published Tuesday 24 October, the UK's fiscal rules are superior to the eurozone's Stability and Growth Pact and the Treasury's opposition to joining the euro has been vindicated.
ECB's Stark on the euro area's role
In the speech 'The euro area's role in the global economy' given on 13 October Jurgen Stark of the ECB said while EMU is a success story with respect to the single monetary policy a lot needs to be done in the areas of fiscal policies and structural…
BIS paper on the euro as a reserve currency
The BIS Working Paper "The euro as a reserve currency: a challenge to the pre-eminence of the US dollar?" investigates whether euro financial markets have developed sufficiently to facilitate the emergence of the euro as a reserve currency on par with…
Official says Syria converts some reserves to euro
The governor of Syria's central bank was quoted by AP on Tuesday 10 October as saying that the bank had converted half of its foreign currency reserves from U.S. dollars to euros.
No softening of EU rules for euro bidders
European Union governments won't relax inflation criteria for countries seeking to adopt the euro, finance ministers said on Tuesday 10 October.
Central Europe cannot afford to delay the euro
According to this article published by the Financial Times on Monday 9 October, the main reason for stalling central European economies is the reluctance by several governments to embrace monetary union as quickly as possible.
Almunia silent on date for Lithuanian euro entry
EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Joachim Almunia declined to set a date for Lithuania to enter the eurozone in a speech Monday 2 October.
Tumpel-Gugerell on financial system modernisation
In the speech 'Opening remarks at the conference on Financial System Modernisation and Economic Growth in Europe' given on 28 September Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell of the ECB said EU economic growth has been disappointing in the period since the launch of…
IMF paper on currency volatility trends
The IMF Working Paper "Common volatility trends in the Central and Eastern European currencies and the euro" asks how much convergence has been achieved between Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies and the eurozone.
CNB's Erbenova rules out 2010 euro date
Czech National Bank board member Michaela Erbenova told daily newspaper Dnes that the Czech Republic will not adopt the euro by its 2010 target date.
ECB's Weber not worried on Iran reserves threat
A threat by the Central Bank of Iran to move its foreign exchange reserves out of dollars into other currencies, notably the euro, should not necessarily be a cause for concern, European Central Bank Governing Council member and Bundesbank President Axel…
Trichet, Juncker warn on disorderly rate moves
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet has told a news conference that disorderly moves in exchange rates are negative for economic growth.
ECB keeps rates steady
The European Central Bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3% as expected.
The euro as an invoice currency
A new ECB working paper investigates the determinants of currency invoicing in international trade.