Sterling
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.
Comment: Developments in July
Here is a quick look back at development affecting central bank in month of July.
Comment: More pounds in their pockets
According to the most recent IMF data on reserve holdings, the pound sterling has surpassed the yen as the third most popular reserve currency. A number of factors could see the pound's popularity increase further.
Dominican central bank adds UK£ to reserves
Dominican Republic is adding British pounds to its foreign monetary reserves because the United Kingdom's assets offer attractive return margins, central bank governor Hector Valdez Albizu said in an interview.
British pound passes yen in central bank reserves
According to this article by Bloomberg News published Monday 10 July, central banks around the world are increasing their holdings of British pounds.
Launch of BoE's new framework
The Bank of England launched its new framework for the implementation of monetary policy to modernise sterling money markets on Thursday 18 May.
BoE's new framework for sterling money markets
The Bank of England confirmed Wednesday that it will launch its new framework for official operations to implement interest rate decisions in the sterling money markets on 18 May.
Comment: Sweden sheds reserve dollars
The Swedish Riksbank dropped a bit of a bombshell on international currency markets on Friday 21 April by announcing a significant reduction in the share of dollars and yen in its foreign reserves portfolio. Although Sweden has a relatively small…
China reveals details of yuan basket
China announced major currency market reforms on Wednesday 8 August and also published details of the basket of currencies to which the bank refers in managing the float of the yuan.
Obituary: John Page 1923-2005
Elizabeth Hennessy looks back on the career of John Page, whose influence as chief cashier at the Bank ran throughout the City.
The Bank’s reforms take shape
Central Banking reports on the Bank of England’s plans to revolutionise the way it sets interest rates.
Nigeria may move from dollar reserves
The Central Bank of Nigeria may consider reducing Nigeria's exposure to the United States dollar by moving the country's reserve towards the pound sterling and euro as a result of the continuing decline in the value of the dollars, a press report in…
Reform of the Bank of England's operations
The Bank of England on 22 July announced the result of its review of its official operations in the sterling money markets. The Bank will initiate a new system based on averaging with voluntary reserves remunerated at the Bank's repo rate.
Mervyn King's Statement to UK Treasury Committee
Bank of England Governor Mervyn King told the UK parliament's Treasury Select Committee on Thursday 25 March that he wants to update the trade-weighted sterling index and has been in talks about doing so.
Sterling coins may contain more nickel than euros
UK - Britain in Europe (BiE), a lobby group who campaign for UK entry to the euro, have come up with the perfect riposte to euro sceptics who complain that the euro coins contain high levels of nickel which can cause skin irritation. A Europhile lobby…
The inconsistency of the anti-euro lobby
ARTICLE - Consider these two assertions. We cannot possibly join the euro because sterling is grotesquely overvalued - locking in today's exchange rate would condemn the economy to stagnation. Giving up sterling would be madness - robbing Britain of a…
Scotland to be first to print its own euros?
UK - The Bank of Scotland chiefs are fronting a campaign, which aims to allow Scotland to become the first region in the European Union to print its own euros, if the pound is scrapped.
Worrying poll finds Britons confused by euro idea
UK - Almost a third of Britons believe the country could keep the pound after it had joined the euro, according to internal polling conducted for the No campaign.
Historical Model Describes 1900s Gold Standard
RESEARCH - An article in the latest edition of Economic Perspectives, from the Chicago Fed, looks at how the United States adopted the gold standard in the late nineteenth century, pegging the dollar to the British pound sterling and other currencies.
UK's anti-euro lobby enlist help of celebrities
UK - A British cinema advertisement in which comedian Rik Mayall mimics Adolf Hitler plunged the campaign to keep the pound into a row on Tuesday.
Warning from Bank of England over euro timetable
UK - Ministers must not be tempted into shortening the timetable for scrapping the pound if Britain votes to join the euro, the Bank of England has warned.
Bank of England Report
REPORT - The Bank of England's Operations in the Sterling Money Markets, 16 May.
Welteke - Pound must fall before euro entry
GERMANY - The president of the Bundesbank, Ernst Welteke, has said he thinks the pound would have to be devalued before Britain could join the single currency.
Keep floating, stop worrying
FEATURE - The real case for an independent pound has nothing to do with ultra-nationalism or hostility to Europe writes Samuel Brittan in Thursday's Financial Times. He suggests the British government allow use of the euro as a parallel currency and…