Monetary Policy
Brown reaffirms euro test results date
Gordon Brown on Tuesday 13 May repeated that the result of its five economic tests on whether Britain should join the euro would be announced by the first week of June, according to a report by Business & Finance
Bundesbank sees German public deficit at 3.5%
Bundesbank chief economist Hermann Remsperger said in an interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung, reported by RTE News, that the German fiscal deficit would amount to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year.
Fed's Parry doesn't expect deflation
Speaking on Monday 12 May, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Robert Parry said "I'm not expecting deflation. We will see a pick-up in real growth and the pace of that pick-up is likely to be stronger by 2004", Reuters reports.
Hungary - C bank accused of discredited policies
Kossuth Radio in Budapest reported that members of the Hungarian Socialist Party have criticised the National Bank of Hungary, saying the monetary policies of the central bank have been discredited after the MNB only warned about the dangers of an…
IMF delegates visit Croatian National Bank
A delegation from the IMF arrived in Croatia on Monday and held talks with the governor of the Croatian National Bank (HNB), Zeljko Rohatinski.
Bank of England Inflation report accolade
The Bank of England gets top marks for best inflation report, 13 May. All inflation targeting central banks produce Inflation Reports. But what makes a good report? Central banks' writing and reporting skills are assessed in a new report.
Bank of England is top of the targetters
The Bank of England has the best inflation report, (the document all inflation-targetting central banks publish), a study entitled "How do central banks write?", out Tuesday claims. CentralBankNet reports from the press conference in London.
CentralBankNet Monday Special Feature
SPECIAL FEATURE - The threat of deflation in Europe prompted the European Central Bank to soften its inflation objective and redefine its monetary policy strategy on Thursday. In this weeks CentralBankNet special feature we look at what the ECB has done…
Duisenberg on accepting Austrian decoration
On accepting an Austrian decoration from Dr Thomas Klestil, the Austrian President, Wim Duisenberg of the European Central Bank said "I should again like to express my sincere gratitude for this high decoration. It strengthens my belief that the cause I …
Moskow at 39th Annual Bank Structure Conference
In a speech at the 39th Annual Conference on Bank Structure and Competition Michael Moskow of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said the conference would discuss the role of boards of directors, changes in financial regulation, accounting standards and…
Minutes of Riksbank Board meeting, 24 April
Minutes of the Sveriges Riksbank Executive Board meeting on 24 April were published 12 May. The minutes said one of the starting points in the assessment of the inflation picture was that the war would be short. Based on this, the Executive Board…
The case for a common Asian currency by 2025
An article in Asahi Shimbun considers the case for a common currency in Asia, saying Asia is a logical candidate to take a leadership role in the reform of global currency markets.
Germany drops pledge to balance budget
Germany on 11 May conceded defeat in its battle to cut spending and avoid recession by dropping its pledge to balance its budget by 2006 as required under the Stability and Growth Pact, according to a report by EurActiv.
New splits over UK euro entry decision
On Sunday 11 May splits emerged over the euro, reports the Financial Times. UK cabinet ministers are sending different signals about whether euro entry is inevitable at some future point and the timing of a referendum.
Zeti reappointed Malaysia's cen bank chief: report
Reports on Sunday 11 May from ChannelNewsAsia said that Malaysia's central bank chief Zeti Akhtar Aziz has been reappointed for another three-year term. A spokesman said the King was pleased with Zeti's work in leading Bank Negara which has brought…
Central bankers see ray of light in global economy
The world's leading central bankers, at a regular meeting at the BIS, shrugged off the recent surge in the euro as a recovery from weakness and said there were rays of light in the global economy, according to a report from Reuters.
Qatar and Jordan central banks full IFSB members
The Islamic Financial Services Board has approved the applications of Qatar Central Bank and the Central Bank of Jordan to join the IFSB as full members.
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee
The Federal Reserve on 8 May released the minutes of its FOMC meeting of 18 March. The minutes show policymakers were concerned that "part of the recent weakness" resulted from factors beyond the war and they were anxious that there "was as yet no…
Greenspan on corporate governance
In the speech 'Corporate governance' Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said the benefits of derivatives, in his judgment, have far exceeded their costs. But they do, unquestionably, pose risk-management challenges to market participants. But those…
ECB Press Conference
At the ECB's post meeting press conference on Thursday Wim Duisenberg said taking due account of new economic and monetary information as well as the latest geopolitical developments, we concluded that the current monetary policy stance remains…
French central bank employees demonstrate again
Bank of France employees went on strike again Thursday and demonstrated in Paris. The action concerned plans to close a number of the Bank's branches.
Iraq central bank appears unlooted
Contrary to many early reports it seems the central bank of Iraq's main vaults have escaped looting and still contain U-S dollars, Iraqi dinars, gold and items from the museum put there for safekeeping.
Tonga appoints woman as governor of central bank
Tonga has appointed a woman as head of the country's central bank. Siosi Cocker Mafi has worked at the Bank since 1993 and becomes the first woman to govern a central bank in the Pacific Islands.
Minutes show Fed had deflation worries in March
Policymakers expressed concern about deflation at the Federal Reserve's March meeting of the rate setting FOMC minutes released Thursday showed.