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Inflation fears lower rate cut hopes
EUROPE - Prospects for an early reduction in interest rates by the European Central Bank receded further yesterday as higher than expected German inflation figures were announced.
Australian inflation lowers rate cut call
AUSTRALIA - Expectations of an interest rate cut have been lowered after the release of surprisingly high inflation figures. The Reserve Bank board is due to meet next week.
Bank disclosure currently inadequate
EUROPE - Survey reveals banks still have ground to make up to meet disclosure requirements.
IMF consultation approves Canada inflation target
CANADA - The International Monetary Fund said in a statement following its annual article IV consultation that there appeared to be no compelling reason for the Bank of Canada to change its inflation target.
Britain will escape global slowdown
UK - Details revealed in a leaked IMF report suggest that Britain will escape the worst of the global economic slowdown and will fare better than its european rivals.
HKMA official not optimisic about Exchange Fund
HONG KONG - A Hong Kong Monetary Authority official said she was not optimistic about the investment return of the territory's Exchange Fund for 2001 because of volatility in the U.S. stock market.
HKMA gets green light on HK deposit insurance
HONG KONG - Hong Kong's Executive Council has approved in principle a deposit insurance scheme proposal aimed at protecting depositors in the case of bank failures, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said on Apr 24.
BoJ to implement RTGS for foreign cbank JGB sales
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan said it will improve its infrastructure to enable Japanese government bond sales by foreign central banks to be settled under the real-time gross settlement system.
New Kenya cbank governor to focus on inflation
KENYA - Kenya's new central bank governor said on Apr 24 the bank's focus would remain on controlling inflation and addressing supply side constraints hindering economic growth.
IMF urges Indonesia to maintain tight mon policy
INDONESIA - An IMF official has suggested that Bank Indonesia should be more flexible in adopting tight monetary, which is aimed at curbing the inflation and reducing pressure on the rupiah.
Argentina impact on Mexico not significant-Ortiz
MEXICO - Mexico's economy is not being significantly hurt by the turmoil gripping Argentina's financial markets, Banco de Mexico Governor Guillermo Ortiz said on Apr 23.
Cavallo accuses cbank chief of sowing chaos
ARGENTINA - Argentine Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo on Apr 23 accused Central Bank chief Pedro Pou of trying to create chaos to divert attention from his own problems.
CSFB's Crisp sees more central bank gold sales
GOLD - Governments could step up gold sales in the coming decade, with even current non-sellers mobilizing bullion, but would do so with more transparency to a market dogged by uncertainty about central bank disposals, Credit Suisse First Boston's top…
US, Europe need not follow same policies-Issing
EUROPE - European Central Bank board member Otmar Issing said on Apr 23 globalization did not mean the United States and Europe needed to follow the same policies.
Central banks could own big chunk of US Tsys-UBSW
RESEARCH - Global central banks could own the entire supply of marketable U.S. debt by the end of 2006 as growing foreign exchange reserves force them to buy more ultra-safe U.S. government debt, according to a survey of central banks conducted by UBS…
Overbidding problem in the ECB fixed rate auctions
ARTICLE - Dieter Nautz from Goethe University and Jorg Oechssler from Bonn University have written a paper "The repo auctions of the European Central Bank and the vanishing quota puzzle". The article examines the overbidding problem faced by the ECB in…
International monetary policy cooperation
CENTRAL BANK RESEARCH - Giancarlo Corsetti and Paolo Pesenti at the New York Fed have written a staff report titled "International Dimensions of Optimal Monetary Policy". This article finds that the gains to be made from international monetary…
Monitoring the European Central Bank 3
BOOK - The Centre for Economic and Policy Research has published the third in its series of books monitoring the European Central Bank titled "Defining a Macroeconomic Framework for the Euro Area". It is co-authored by Alberto Alesina, Olivier Blanchard,…
Settlement system to remain in New Zealand
NEW ZEALAND - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced on Apr 18 that its plan to move the hardware used for inter-bank settlements in New Zealand to Sydney will not proceed.
India's c.bank sets stiffer bank investment norms
INDIA - The Reserve Bank of India said on Apr 23 it had set more stringent guidelines for banks' exposures to the stock market following recommendations made by an expert panel.
Eastern Europe, CIS face slower growth-EBRD report
EASTERN EUROPE - Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union face a sharp reduction in economic growth and a growing imperative to step up the pace of reform, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said on Apr 22.
EU president's statement after Ecofin meeting
EUROPE - Following is the text of an introductory statement by the European Union's Swedish president following the first session of the informal Ecofin meeting on Apr 21.
Yen weak vs dollar - ex-MOF Sakakibara-Kyodo
JAPAN - The yen is likely to remain weak against the dollar for the time being, Eisuke Sakakibara, a former vice finance minister for international affairs, said in an interview with Kyodo News this week.
Gulf to make dollar peg to monetary union-report
BAHRAIN - Members of the Gulf Cooperation Council have agreed to adopt the U.S. dollar as the sole peg for a proposed single currency for the group, senior GCC official said in remarks published by Bahraini newspapers on Apr 22.