Opinion/Central Banks

BOJ governor Fukui's first year

Toshihiko Fukui completed his first year as governor of the Bank of Japan on Saturday 20 March. This article looks at Fukui's first year as governor of the BOJ and says he has made a difference in dealing with the government and the ruling parties…

Interview: Heraldo Muoz

Since September 11th the tracking of global terrorist funding has been more important than ever. CBNet spoke to Heraldo Muoz, Chilean ambassador to the UN and chairman of the Security Council Al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee to ask exactly how UN…

Greenspan 'Maestro of Chutzpah'

In his New York Times column "Maestro of Chutzpah", Paul Krugman says Alan Greenspan "betrayed his institution, and the nation" by using his office to promote a political agenda.

The ECB's new headquarters may bring image change

This article looks at the ECB's new HQ plans and examines other central banks' architecture. The Bank of Japan's main office looks suspiciously like the Bank of England which has a grand, imperial flavour, it says. Then there's the Federal Reserve with a…

Asian reaction to Greenspan

Journalists of Agence France Presse have been surveying reactions in Asia to Greeenspan's warnings about the inflationary implications of heavy intervention.

Japan ponders reserves switch

Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki's suggestion that Japan might consider diversifying its massive foreign exchange reserves provoked speculation about possible dollar dumping on a huge scale by Asian governments and also set the gold market…

Has the ECB failed to meet its objectives?

Just over five years after its establishment the ECB has failed to meet its stated objective of maintaining price stability, according to an outspoken report published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)today.

Floating the renminbi is a red herring

This article by Gerald P O'Driscoll Jr and Lee Hoskins says the citizens of both China and the US will benefit when China moves closer to a market economy. But in the meantime, the leaders of both countries need to avoid protectionism in all forms,…

BOJ chief's coronation may be premature

This article looks at Bank of Japan governor, Toshihiko Fukui who was described recently as "the toast of Tokyo financial circles" and named central banker of the year by a magazine. If Fukui can succeed where none of his predecessors has over the last…

Excerpt from interview with ECB's Otmar Issing

In an excerpt from an interview in the latest issue of Central Baking journal Otmar Issing, the ECB's chief economist, discusses potential weaknesses of inflation targetting and explains why money still matters in monetary policy.

Interview: Central Bank of Iraq's Chief Economist

In an interview Mudhir Kasim said that Iraq's central bank published official statistics for the first time in 26 years on Tuesday (17 Feb). "This is the first central bank bulletin since time immemorial. The information we produced before was secret,"…

A case for removing the ringgit peg in Malaysia

This article looks at Malaysia's ringgit peg, saying that the US dollar's fall has posed questions over its viability. It argues for an immediate restoration of the free float regime, which applied before the local currency was fixed to the US dollar in…

What monetary regime for Iraq?

This article, co-authored by Professor Steve Hanke and Matt Sekerke, says that the choice of monetary regime for Iraq remains wide open despite measures to establish an independent central bank, framework for bank regulation, and Saddam-free bank notes.

Asian currencies may be linked to China's yuan

In an interview, Avinash Persaud said that people have tended to view Asia as being on a dollar peg when in reality it is, in his view, on a renminbi peg. He also said it was unlikely the Chinese would respond to criticism of their currency regime but…

Wounded Bosnia heals with NZ money policy

Want evidence that New Zealand's general approach to monetary policy works whatever the environment? In this article Peter Nicholl, governor of the central bank of Bosnia, says a main ingredient of good central bank law is operational independence and…

Call for new central bank rules in Syria

This article looks at what it calls the 'erratic' actions of the central bank of Syria in its interest rate setting policy. It calls for the introduction of new rules and practices into the system to regain confidence.

Diplomatic fudge will not get best people for ECB

This article considers who will replace Eugenio Domingo Solans on the ECB's Executive Board. His successor must be chosen on the basis of competence only, it says, but warns that "horse trading" could be a more important factor in the choice.

Interview with Czech National Bank's Zdenek Tuma

In excerpts from an interview from the February issue of Central Banking journal, published Monday February 9, the governor of the Czech National Bank discusses his concerns for the process and timing of joining the euro and outlines how he sees European…

Focus on central banks

This article looks at some key events this week in the world of central banking. Ben Bernanke's comments on inflation ruffled some feathers, the author says, with the suggestion that deflation fears had receded substantially. The ECB's latest press…

BOJ on shaky ground in anti-deflation fight

This article considers whether the Bank of Japan's credibility is at risk. It asks whether the BOJ's quantitative easing policy is based on solid logic or represents a very risky move by governor Fukui. If the economy starts growing strongly it could see…

Interview with San Francisco Fed's Robert Parry

In an interview published on Monday 19 January, soon to retire President Robert Parry of the San Francisco Fed said the US economy "is growing at a pretty rapid pace" while inflation remains at historic lows. The toughest time for him at the Fed was 2001…

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