Articles by Central Banking Newsdesk
Gudmundsson confident of Icesave deal despite country’s ‘no’ vote
Icelandic central bank governor Már Gudmundsson says a resolution will be reached with British and Dutch governments soon despite massive wave of public opposition to the plan
Volcker lambasts higher inflation targets
Former Fed chairman Paul Volcker calls the suggestion that inflation targets should be raised to about 4% “nonsense”; points to the difficulties of the 1980s
More men than women lost jobs in crisis: NY Fed paper
New York Fed paper finds that the unemployment gender gap widened in the recession, partly due to higher numbers of men re-entering labour force rather than waiting out the slump
IMF deputy on drivers of the Asian recovery
International Monetary Fund first deputy managing director Murillo Portugal says Australia has done well as a result of Chinese commodity demand, but must watch out for a cooling off
Hildebrand, Weber condemn calls for higher inflation targets
Swiss and German central bank heads label IMF chief economist’s argument “seriously flawed”; deem timing “highly unfortunate”
Bangladesh’s Rahman welcomes remittance improvements
Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman says banks, microfinance companies and IT specialists should continue working together to increase access to finance
Bank begins consultation on note circulation
Bank of England in talks with commercial cash industry on proposal to better distribute lowest denomination note
Bank of Japan Review – Measuring potential growth in Japan
Bank of Japan review notes difficulties with various methods used to forecast growth, says potential shortcoming should be at the fore of policymakers’ minds
ECB surplus drops more than 16%
European Central Bank reports a €2.218 billion surplus, and a €2.25 billion profit, pinning fall in interest income to low rates on dollar assets
Norway’s wealth fund smashes profit record
Norway’s Government Pension Fund–Global sees a 25.6% return on its investments for 2009, trumping the benchmark portfolio by more than four percentage points
Longworth praises Canada’s astute liquidity management
Bank of Canada deputy governor David Longworth says central bank has been thoughtful and measured, assuring markets that support is available but ensuring that it is only used in dire circumstances
Banks’ profits plunged 40%: Greece deputy
Bank of Greece deputy governor Eleni Dendrinou-Louri says profits fell more than 40%, accompanied by a disconcerting rise in trading income
Bank of Estonia – Economic Policy Statement
Estonian central bank pins fledgling recovery to a pick-up in export sector, labour market remains weak
Swiss stabfund losses wipe out UBS equity
Revaluation wipes more than $5.6 billion off the value of SNB’s toxic-asset portfolio
An improved model for predicting direct investment equity income
Paper from the Danish central bank finds that combining past profitability and change in expected consumption growth provides a better forecast
We won’t ban prop trading: British Lord
British business secretary Peter Mandelson says Volcker rule is “too difficult” even as Washington works to turn it into law
Argentine Senate set to reject governor
Central bank set to be leaderless again after committee vote against Fernández ally
Norges Bank sees $1.28 billion loss
Norwegian central bank says deficit the result of the appreciation of its currency; cannot transfer funds to the country’s Treasury as a result
Malaysia hikes as recession ends in emerging Asia
Bank Negara Malaysia raises its key rate by a quarter percentage point, citing stronger than forecast growth results in emerging Asia
Stimulus is not the bulk of debt: Fund’s Lipsky
International Money Fund first deputy John Lipsky says underlying increases in spending and lower taxes from financial sector underpin the debt burden, rather than stimulus
Ghana’s Amissah-Arthur explains early 2009 hike
Bank of Ghana governor Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur says the West African country’s government has made vital progress in cutting spending, allowing key rates to be lowered
Bank of Korea – International Investment Position (end 2009)
Preliminary figures from the Korean central bank show that the country’s investment overseas soared in value, foreign investment in Korea also increased
Risks influencing loan rates: Bank of England paper
Bank’s external monetary policy unit research shows loan size is not the only variable affecting rates, says higher income individuals are treated better by lenders
Fed’s Fisher: break up the big banks
Dallas Federal Reserve’s president gets tough on those deemed too big to fail