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IMF surveillance improved
The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) country surveillance improvements are effective, posits a new paper from the Bank of Canada.
Peru cuts for first time in more than three years
The Central Bank of Peru cut its key interest rate a quarter point to 6.25% on Thursday. It is the central bank's first cut since July 2005.
Goodyear in after bad year at Temasek
Chip Goodyear, a former chief executive at BHP Billiton, a mining company, is to replace Ho Ching, the wife of Singapore's prime minister, as chief executive of Temasek, the city state's sovereign wealth fund.
Demand for eurozone loans shrinks
Demand for loans from both businesses and households across the euro area fell sharply in the fourth quarter, the European Central Bank's (ECB) latest credit conditions survey indicated.
Ferguson, Feldstein join Volcker recovery panel
Martin Feldstein, a Harvard professor; Roger Ferguson, a former vice chairman at the Federal Reserve, and William Donaldson, a former SEC chairman, will join the economic recovery panel headed by Paul Volcker, a former chairman of the Fed.
Old Lady to begin buying commercial paper mid-Feb
The Bank of England's commercial paper facility will become operational on 19 February, the Bank said on Friday.
Multi-family subprime borrowers should owe less
Multi-family property owners with subprime mortgages should receive a writedown of a proportion of the principal balance on their loan, argues a new paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Bank of Portugal - Annual Report 2007
The Portuguese economy saw no real convergence to European Union (EU) norms over the past decade, notes the country's central bank in its latest Annual Report.
ECB official praises Slovakia's euro entry
The changeover from Slovak koruna to euro, which took place in January, was very smooth, said Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo, a member of the European Central Bank's Executive Board.
National regulators must revise Basel II
National regulators need only make a small change to the Basel II framework to avoid future government recapitalisations. It is essential that they do so, say Samuel Sender and Noel Amenc, two researchers at France's EDHEC business school.
Richmond Fed's Charlotte office gets new head
Matthew Martin, an economist at the Richmond Federal Reserve, has been promoted to the role of senior vice president responsible for the Fed's Charlotte branch.
Growth fears outweigh depreciation threat for CNB
The Czech National Bank (CNB) has cut its key interest rate to 1.75%, the lowest level in more than three years, in an attempt to stave off recession despite concerns about koruna's weakening.
SARB's easing cycle accelerates
The South African Reserve Bank cut its key rate by 100 basis points on Thursday following a 50 basis-point cut in January.
Tarp assets too dear
The head of a watchdog charged with overseeing the use of funds allocated to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp) said on Thursday that the Treasury was overpaying for its investments in banks.
Bank cuts to 1%, economy in severe downturn
The Bank of England chopped 50 basis points off bank rate on Thursday and stepped up the rhetoric on the scale of the crisis, saying that the global economy was now "in the throes of a severe and synchronised downturn".
Riksbank upgrades payments system
The Riksbank is to move to a new technology system and platform for RIX, the central bank's funds transfer system.
Norway sees deeper, longer downturn ahead
Norges Bank shaved half a point off its key rate on signs the downturn could be deeper and last longer than previously expected.
UK edges towards bad-bank solution
Britain is considering adopting the bad bank model to buy toxic assets a little over a fortnight after London announced plans to guarantee banks' bad debt.
SocGen losses cost Central Africa $584m - report
The Bank of Central African States has lost about $584m on investments made through Societe Generale, a bank, a senior official has reportedly said.
Kazakhstan devalues tenge by 18%
The National Bank of Kazakhstan has allowed the tenge's value to fall by almost a fifth against the greenback by substantially devaluing the currency's dollar peg.
Africa will not be spared - IMF's Kato
The global financial crisis will not spare Africa, said Takatoshi Kato, a deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Japan's Nishimura: increase competitiveness
Japanese manufacturing needs to enhance its competitiveness, said Kiyohiko Nishimura, a deputy governor of the Bank of Japan.
US demand for loans weakens further
Businesses and households' demand for loans continues to weaken, shows the latest edition of the Federal Reserve's quarterly Senior Loan Officer Survey.
Italy's Draghi - standardisation needed
A move towards the standardisation of financial products in the future is unavoidable, said Mario Draghi, the governor of the Bank of Italy.