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Sri Lanka keeps on cutting
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka slashed its policy rate by 175 basis points to 14.75% on Wednesday in an effort to encourage lending and revive economic activity.
Bring back Glass-Steagall?
Suddenly, everybody is talking again about separating merchant banking from commercial banking. Ideas that a few months ago might have been dismissed as crackpot - bringing back a version of the Glass-Steagall legislation - now look as if they were ahead…
Fed to buy Treasuries
The Federal Open Market Committee said on Thursday that it will buy up to $300 billion in Treasuries and an additional $750 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities. It will also invest an additional $100 billion in agency debt.
King moots Glass-Steagall revival
Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, has called for a debate on whether the global financial crisis has shown that a Glass-Steagall type provision is needed to prevent retail deposits from being used to fund investment-banking activities.
SA shifts to monthly schedule for rate moves
The South African Reserve Bank's rate-setters are will vote once a month for the remainder of the year after the central bank announced it was doubling the frequency of its meetings for 2009.
FSA's Turner unveils blueprint for reform
Lord Adair Turner, the chairman of Britain's Financial Services Authority (FSA), on Wednesday published proposals for fundamental regulatory overhaul of the financial system, which includes a shift in the approach of the industry watchdog, whose…
Central banks join the flight to quality
The financial turmoil has had a major impact on central banks' reserve-management policies.
South Africa's Mnyande: no time to sit and wait
Strengthening southern Africa's ability to prevent future crises is vital, Monde Mnyande, the chief economist of the South African Reserve Bank, has warned.
Basel II procyclical: Norges Bank
Basel II introduces an additional source of procyclicality into the banking sector, a new paper from Norges Bank finds.
Fullani highlights main risks to Albania
The drop-off in remittances and a tightening of financing conditions are the main threats from the global crisis to the Albanian economy, said Adrian Fullani, the governor of the country's central bank.
RBA on why it kept policy rate unchanged
The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to "pause for a further evaluation" of the economic situation and so leave the cash rate unchanged at 3.25%, according to minutes of the March meeting.
Italy's Draghi calls on banks to raise capital
Mario Draghi, the governor of the Bank of Italy, has urged the country's banks to increase their capital ratios to shore up confidence in the financial sector.
Serbian governor contradicts Belgrade on EU aid
Radovan Jelasic, the governor of the National Bank of Serbia, has said that central and eastern European states should avoid over-reliance on European Union (EU) aid just hours after it emerged that Belgrade was seeking assistance from Brussels.
How the US can abate anger at bankers' bail-out
Brendan Brown, the chief economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, offers two remedies to temper public outrage at the bail-out of Wall Street.
BoJ pledges up to 1 trn in subordinated loans
The Bank of Japan is to offer its banks subordinated loans worth up to 1 trillion ($10.1 billion) to bolster its banking sector, crippled by the recent slump in equity prices.
AIG succumbs to political will, names recipients
In a surprise move, American International Group (AIG), a beleaguered insurer, has revealed the recipients of $105.3 billion-worth of federal funds after coming under intense pressure from politicians to do so.
New measures for housing inflation needed
Policymakers lack appropriate measures of inflation for the market in owner-occupied housing services, argues a new paper form the Philadelphia Federal Reserve.
Policy can make deflationary episodes more costly
The costs of previous deflationary episodes have been exacerbated by inappropriate policy responses, a new paper from the Bank of England posits.
Fiji's Narube on productivity
Fiji's rate of productivity is extremely disappointing, said Savenaca Narube, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji.
Serbia seeks more IMF, EU aid
Serbia is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU) to secure more emergency funding to bolster its reserve stockpile and limit the social impact of the crisis.
Bernanke admits Fed failed in regulatory role
Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, has acknowledged that the central bank could have done a better job in preventing the financial crisis.
Bric economies call for greater voice
Brazil, China, Russia and India, the four leading emerging-market economies, have pressed for a greater say in the running of the Bretton Woods institutions.
A new monetary policy for the Fed
Jane D'Arista, an economist, has proposed a new countercyclical method of monetary control to enhance the Federal Reserve's ability to respond to credit contractions and expansions, in a new paper published by the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Buba on savings banks and liquid assets
Savings banks hold a higher amount of liquid assets for each unit of sight deposits than regulation requires, posits a new paper from the Bundesbank.