Euro
Argentina links to euro
ARGENTINA - The Argentine Senate has approved a new law that will fix its currency to the euro as well as to the dollar.
Chancellor cautious on early UK euro entry
UK - Gordon Brown, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, gave a cautious welcome to UK entry to the euro at his mansion house speech on 20 June.
Friedman issues euro warning
US - Top US economist Milton Friedman believes Europe was wrong to introduce the single European currency and predicts it will lead to a raft of economic problems for the region.
Euro € - Dutch prepare for switch with free coins
NETHERLANDS - The Dutch government has extravagent plans to prepare its people for the arrival of new euro notes and coins on 1 January 2002. Alone among the participating countries, the Dutch will put free coins in everyone's pocket before the…
Europe can learn from UK's decimal currency switch
UK - The conversion to a decimal currency in Britain in 1971 may have lessons for the introduction of euro notes and coins in January next year.
Euro € - Warning on readiness for euro
USA - Oracle, the world's second largest software company, has warned that companies could hit an "information technology bottleneck" in the run-up to the introduction of euro notes and coins on 1 January.
Euro € - Five economic tests have not started yet
UK - Chancellor Gordon Brown has quashed speculation that assessment of the five tests necessary for Britain's entry in the single currency have already begun and narrowly avoided a 'banana skin' during a BBC radio interview on 18 June.
Soros avoids the euro
EUROPE - In an interview with the German Sunday newspaper, Welt Am Sontag, George Soros says that betting on the euro is a mug's game.
Countdown to the single currency
REPORT - CENTRALBANKNET'S SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND'S 'PRACTICAL ISSUES ARISING FROM THE EURO' REPORT, JUNE 2001.
Welteke - UK exchange rate problem for euro entry
GERMANY - Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke said on 18 June the chances for a UK entry into European Monetary Union have increased with the re-election of the Labour government, but the current high exchange rate of sterling is a problem.
German and French central bankers back strong euro
EUROPE - French and German central bankers have reacted to sharp rises in inflation within the euro-zone by reaffirming their support for a stronger euro and expressing confidence about the longer-term inflation outlook.
Thank you, academics, for making up my mind
UK - A letter signed by 15 leading UK academics supporting Britain's entry into the euro has provoked several passionate responses.
Worries as German's remember 'wheelbarrow money'
GERMANY - A survey has revealed that more than half the population of Germany remain wary about the introduction of euro notes and coins fearing it will lead to price rises as retailers use the opportunity to round up prices following conversion into the…
Blair may be serious about single currency entry
UK - British prime minister Tony Blair is being seen as serious about campaigning for British participation in the single currency, the euro, after the UK general election which will be held tomorrow, 7 June.
Top economists say UK should join euro
UK - Fifteen of the country's most eminent economists have urged the UK Government to join the euro in a letter to the Financial Times in London.
Police warn euro notes may make crime easier
EUROPE - The high value of euro banknotes may make financial crime easier by enabling criminals who transfer cash across borders to cram more money into briefcases, European police fear.
Rebuke for UK chancellors ECB reform calls
UK - Gordon Brown has come under criticism from Ernst Welteke, who was speaking yesterday (29 May), for urging the ECB to improve its openness after just three years of operation.
Monetary policy formulation in the euro area
SPEECH - Christian Noyer, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, spoke at the "Monetary Policy and the Markets" conference of the National Association for Business Economics, Washington, DC on 23 May.
UK General Election - Conservative pledges
UK - The UK Conservative party have published their manifesto. In it they spell out what they would do if elected to government in the general election to be held on 7 June. Michael Portillo,the shadow chancellor of the exchequer, sets out their policies.
UK General Election - Labour pledges
UK - The UK Labour party published its election manifesto on 15 May. They review their changes made to the Bank of England and describe their policy on the single european currency, the euro.
Common currency change could cause continent chaos
EUROPE - The manner of the euro's introduction on 1 January 2002 will shape perceptions of it across europe. Many fear that the replacement of national currencies with euro notes and coins is going to be costly and chaotic.
Readiness for euro may be falling
EUROPE - Fewer European companies say they are ready for the introduction of euro notes and coins now than a year ago, according to a survey of big businesses in the euro-zone.
Putting euro banknotes and coins into circulation
Speech - Eugenio Domingo Solans, Member of the Governing Council and the Executive Board of the European Central Bank delivered a speech at the Euro 2002 Information Campaign conference hosted by the Banco de Portugal on 15 May.
ECB cuts interest rates by 0.5%
Summary - The European Central Bank (ECB) has made a surprise cut in its key interest rate reducing it by a quarter point to 4.5%.