News/Monetary Policy
Changeover to euro not to create hidden pressure
EUROPE - The changeover to the euro should not create hidden inflationary pressures or VAT increase, President of the European Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, Christa Randzio-Plath, said, referring to European Central Bank (ECB)…
Dual currency system to be in place in Montenegro
YUGOSLAVIA - The Central Bank of Montenegro has drawn up a plan for the transition from the German mark to the euro, which will last from the beginning of the next year until June.
Bank of Korea gov to attend Kansas fed symposium
SOUTH KOREA - Bank of Korea Govenor Chon Chol-hwan will begin a six-day visit to Kansas City on 29 August to attend a symposium organised by the U.S. city's Federal Reserve Bank (FRB).
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee
REPORT - A meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee was held in the offices of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C., beginning on Tuesday, June 26, 2001, at 2:00 p.m. and continuing on Wednesday, June 27, 2001, at…
German wise man eyes lower GDP, ECB rates
GERMANY - Bert Ruerup, one of the German government's five economic advisers or "wise men", cut his forecast on 23 August for German growth in 2001 and said the way was clear for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates.
Pre - euro flood of forgeries is feared
EUROPE - Gangs of counterfeiters are set to offload fake francs, D-Marks and other eurozone currencies before the changeover to euro notes and coins in January, retailers have been warned.
C Bank of Lebanon launches new composite index
LEBANON - Banque du Liban launched a new composite index on 22 August, 2001.
Copom keep rates unchanged at 19% per year
BRAZIL - If the economic climate in Argentina is enough to keep the Central Bank in a state of alert, Brazil's weak second quarter GDP data only added to its concerns about the future of the Brazilian economy.
Australian economy 'immune' to turmoil - Costello
AUSTRALIA - Australia would be immune to looming global economic turmoil, Australian Treasurer Peter Costello said yesterday as the threat of recession looms larger for the US. Mr Costello predicted Australia would top the world economic growth table…
Phil Fed - Economists cut US growth forecasts
US - The world's largest economy is likely to grow sluggishly for the rest of this year but will pick up again in 2002, according to a Federal Reserve bank survey of private forecasters released today, 23 August.
EMU debate crucial to long term health of Swedish
SWEDEN - With the Swedish krona suffering from classic symptoms of a small European currency remaining outside of European Monetary Union, its best hope of a sustained recovery may be an acceleration of the EMU debate and entry process, analysts say.
German growth slows to zero
GERMANY - Official figures confirmed the fact that the German economy slowed to a halt in the second quarter of the year.
Hayami - BOJ won't adopt managed inflation policy
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan can't adopt high inflation targets that would involve measures to artificially reflate the economy, the central bank governor said 23 August.
Seoul pays off its IMF debts
SOUTH KOREA - South Korea has fully repaid the last instalment of a multi-billion dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund.
Brazil rates will only fall after energy crisis
BRAZIL - The government will only be able to cut interest rates when energy supplies return to normal, which will probably only be in the second quarter of 2002, said former Central Bank chairman Carlos Geraldo Langoni on 21 August.
US rates cut for seventh time
UNITED STATES - The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates for the seventh time this year in a continued attempt to revive the US economy.
IMF agrees extra cash for Argentina
ARGENTINA - After 12 tense days of talks, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to increase its funding to crisis-hit Argentina by $8bn.
IMF News Brief
REPORT - A news release from the International Monetary Fund, 21 August, detailing the recommend addition of US$8 billion to Argentina's stand-by credit.
German wise man says ECB need not follow Fed cut
GERMANY - Horst Siebert, a senior adviser to the German government, said on 21 August the European Central Bank did not need to follow the widely expected U.S. interest rate cut by trimming euro zone rates.
Argentina pays workers in bonds
ARGENTINA - As Argentina's talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) drag on - with still no word on whether the country will get a much-needed aid package - the situation at home is getting worse.
Shiokawa - Government, BOJ In Agreement On Policy
JAPAN - Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said 21 August the government and the Bank of Japan were in agreement on policy and the central bank was taking into account the administration's views on policy.
Japan gov't panel starts debate on BOJ policy
JAPAN - The Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy has started talks on the direction of monetary policy, set by the Bank of Japan, as a way of stemming deflation, and will likely issue a set of proposals in September calling for further credit easing.
French/German growth difference not structural
GERMANY - France's economic growth has outpaced that of Germany for several years recently but the stronger growth was due to special, not structural factors and the gap should narrow in the future, the Bundesbank said on 16 August.
An anxious countdown to new euro cash
BELGIUM - BELGIUM - In two weeks, thousands of armoured trucks will fan out across Europe to start supplying banks with crisp bills and shiny coins denominated in euros, the single continental currency that will replace the German mark, the French franc…