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Sarkinas reppointed as Bank of Lithuania governor
The Lithuanian parliament voted Jan. 23 to appoint Reinoldijus Sarkinas for a second five-year term as the governor of the central Bank of Lithuania. His new term begins on Feb. 15, 2001. The motion passed with 74 votes in favour, no votes against and…
Zimbabwe inflation surges to 70%
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Leonard Tsumba said in Jan 2001 averageinflation is expected to rise to about 70 percent in 2001 from 55,7percent in 2000, further threatening the fragile economy.
Cuisia lobbies for BSP chief to stay
Phillipines former central bank governor Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. has openly pledged his support for current governor Rafael B. Buenaventura to stay in his post, despite the resignation of Philippine President Joseph Estrada, who had appointed Buenaventura.
Irish economy 'inconsistent' with rest of EU
The European Union's economic and monetary affairs commissioner, Pedro Solbes, said the Irish economy is "inconsistent" with that of the other member states. The commissioner has warned in the past that inflation is too high in Ireland and that the…
MTS sees JGB volume soaring with electronic deals
The start of an electronic inter-dealer brokerage system for Japanese government bonds (JGBs) will bring a huge increase in trading volumes, MTS Japan Securities CEO William Campbell said in an interview.
Bank of Russia forms internet regulation division
In preparation for regulating banking operations on the Internet, the Bank of Russia has created a special division within its department for monitoring banks. Bankers have greeted this news enthusiastically, with the hope that the new division will…
Jakarta court to decide Feb 1 on cbank head's case
Indonesia's Central Jakarta Court said on Jan. 24 it would decide next week whether to continue the corruption trial of central bank governor Syahril Sabirin. Sabirin has labelled absurd the accusations which link him to a long-running scandal over huge…
RBNZ sees reduced inflation risk
New Zealand debt markets ended strongly on Jan. 24 after the Reserve Bank's comments on the inflation outlook were interpreted as having a dovish tone for rates. The central bank, in leaving its official cash rate unchanged at 6.50 percent, said it saw a…
Manila central bank to tap syndicated loan market
The Philippine central bank said on Jan 24 it may tap the syndicated loan market to pay off $400 million worth of debts maturing next month. Central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura said the government has received positive feedback for the planned…
Jakarta says FX rules allow for interest rate cuts
Indonesia's chief economics minister said on Jan.24 the central bank's new forex rules would ease inflationary pressure, which would give room for the bank to cut interest rates. "Pressure from imported inflation should ease. This should allow (the…
UK's MPC voted 5-4 to leave rates steady in Jan
Britain's central bank was split almost down the middle over whether to cut interest rates this month, with five of the nine members voting to leave rates steady at 6.0 percent while four wanted to lower borrowing costs. The Bank of England's chief…
Uganda c.bank sells $5m to support the shilling
The Central Bank of Uganda on Jan. 24, 2001, sold $5m to an interbank market already well supplied with dollars in an attempt to strengthen the shilling, dealers said. The shilling closed the day marginally up at 1,810/55 from a morning opening of 1,835…
Bank of Israel posts $1.6bn excess expense in 2000
The Bank of Israel said on Jan. 24 its expenses exceeded income by 6.7 billion shekels ($1.6 billion) in 2000 compared with an 8.7 billion shekel deficit in 1999. "This was the result of two main factors: The first, an excess of 3 billion shekels in…
Lithuanian cbank considers litas law draft
Lithuania's central bank said on Jan. 24 its board would consider draft amendments to a law on Jan. 25 aimed at clearing the path for a shift in the litas currency's peg to the euro from the dollar. The Bank of Lithuania is looking to shift the peg on or…
IMF welcomes Sri Lankan rupee free float
The International Monetary Fund Jan. 24 welcomed Sri Lanka's free float of the local currency, saying the exchange rate could now be determined more freely by market forces. "The new exchange rate arrangement is in keeping with the broader reform agenda…
Paramonova-CBR far from saying bank system is well
"The Central Bank of Russia is far from saying the national banking system is well", CBR First Deputy President, Tatyana Paramonova has said. As she spoke at a meeting of Russian and Israeli businessmen in Moscow on Jan. 24, 2000, Paramonova said that a…
Buba tells Euro politicians to keep hands off ECB
Germany's central bank warned European finance ministers on Jan. 24 not to interfere with the European Central Bank after signs that some politicians were lobbying for more policy influence.The Bundesbank said in its January monthly report that the Euro…
IBRA - BII,BK Universial May need fresh capital
Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency Chairman Edwin Gerungan said two nationalized banks may need fresh funds before year-end to ensure their capital adequacy remains within international standards. Edwin said another alternative for PT Bank…
Chile's economy to grow relatively fast - cbank
Chile's Central Bank forecast Jan. 23 economic growth between 5.6 and 5.9 percent for the years 2001 and 2002 respectively, as well as 3.4 and 2.9 percent inflation for the respective periods. In a monetary political report, the bank explained that the…
Hayami rules out early quantitative easing steps
Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami said Jan. 23 that an instruction issued to bank executives to study ways to boost liquidity in the nation's money market does not mean the central bank will take additional quantitative monetary easing measures any time…
Duisenberg gets chief adviser at ECB
The European Central Bank has appointed Olaf Sleijpen chief adviser of Wim Duisenberg, president of the bank. Sleijpen starts on April 1, 2001. Sleijpen is a 30-year old departmental director of the general secretariat of the Dutch central bank. He also…