Monetary Policy
Bollard on the evolution of monetary policy
SPEECH - In the speech 'The evolution of monetary policy' Alan Bollard of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand spoke of himself 'as a new central bank governor' and said the new Policy Targets Agreement will offer more flexibility, but this flexibility needs…
Olson on banking in 2002 after a decade of change
SPEECH - In the speech 'The Banking Industry in 2002 after a Decade of Change' Mark Olson of the Federal Reserve said the past decade has been a time of dynamic change in the financial services industry and there are no signs that the pace of change will…
Bergo on monetary policy and economic cycles
SPEECH - In the speech 'Oil revenues, monetary policy and economic cycles' Jarle Bergo of Norges Bank said GDP growth is likely to pick up but will remain below the growth potential next year and that the interest rate increase in July has resulted in…
G20 countries disagree on debt defaults
Last weekends meeting of Group of 20 central bank governors and finance ministers from rich and developing nations failed to make much progress as differing views on how best to resolve emerging market debt defaults divided delegates.
Korea hosts EMEAP
The Bank of Korea began its 24th Executives' Meeting of East Asia and Pacific Central Banks (EMEAP) deputies on 25 November on the southern resort island of Cheju. It is expected that around 35 central bank deputy-governors and executives from EMEAP…
Bimal Jalan downplays fears of financial crisis
Saturday saw the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Dr Bimal Jalan play down any threat of a domestic financial crisis. He reassured people that macro-economic indicators of the Indian economy were strong with low inflation, reasonably good growth…
'Goose the US economy' says McTeer
The latest Federal Reserve official to publicly voice his support for the FOMC's recent interest rate reduction is Bob McTeer, president of the Dallas Fed. McTeer showed himself to be in favour of a rate cut back in September, voting against the FOMC…
Fed's Kohn on US trade gap
Federal Reserve Governor Donald Kohn said on Friday it was "hard to imagine" the imbalance in the U.S. current account could continue indefinitely and that a rough correction of the situation was a distinct risk.
BIS Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Hague Arbitral Tribunal decision regarding the repurchase of privately held shares of the Bank for International Settlements, 25 November 2002.
Moskow on the economic outlook
SPEECH - In the speech 'Moskow on the economic outlook' Michael Moskow of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said following the Federal Reserves recent half point interest rate cut that, the low-inflation environment has allowed us to maintain an…
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey
REPORT - Activity in the region's manufacturing sector has improved modestly, according to firms surveyed for the November 2002 Business Outlook Survey. Indexes for general activity, new orders, and shipments improved from their negative readings in the…
Chicago Fed National Activity Index October 2002
REPORT - CFNAI Shows Economic Growth Slowed Further in October - In October, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) remained below zero for a third month, coming in at -0.81 The three-month moving average index, CFNAI-MA3, moved down to -0.55.
Minutes of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting
MINUTES - Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 10 and 11 October 2002, released 22 November. The nine member Policy Board decided unanimously to leave monetary policy unchanged at the meeting, resisting political pressure to try to…
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, November 2002
REPORT - The Bank of Japan published its Monthly Report of Recent Economic and Financial Developments, November 2002, on 21 November. In the report the Bank downgraded its assessment of the economy for the first time in a year, citing stagnant export-led…
Cutting kronas in Sweden
ARTICLE - As we reported earlier in the week Swedish prime minister Goran Persson is set to name the date for the euro referendum next week. The proposed referendum on Sweden's entry to the euro looks like taking place in Autumn 2003. However on current…
Fed governor Bernanke repeats confidence on prices
Much recent press comment has focussed on whether the US economy could be set for a period of deflation. In a speech made Thursday Ben Bernanke said he was confident that the Federal Reserve still had the fire power left, even if interest rates fell…
London not losing out over euro says B of E
In its six monthly 'Practical Issues Arising from the Euro' the Bank of England said on Friday that the City of London had retained its share of foreign exchange trading and in various other dealing areas since the introduction of the euro as a tradeable…
Italy poised to put strict curb on public spending
After much recent talk on the stability and growth pact Italy looks set to restrict spending in an effort to avoid sanctions which other euro zone countries have recently incurred for not restricting their budget deficits to within 3 percent of GDP. The…
Norway c bank chief sees closer U.S.-Norway ties
In a speech made this week Svein Gjedrem said Nordic countries and the US have long historic ties and that these ties would grow closer, helped by Norway's investments of surplus oil cash abroad.
William Poole - From Professor to Policymaker
SPEECH - In the speech 'From Professor to Policymaker: Emerging from the Shadow' William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said his years of teaching and writing as a university professor have helped him to develop effective communication…
Heikensten on the krona, Sweden and EMU
SPEECH - In the speech 'The krona, Sweden and EMU' Lars Heikensten of the Sveriges Riksbank said the most likely time for a referendum to Sweden's entry to the euro would be Autumn 2003. If Sweden was to enter ERM2 Heikensten said, the decision on the…
Paraguay central bank chief Raul Vera resigns
Paraguay's central bank president has resigned. The decision came on Wednesday and will weaken the government of President Luis Gonzalez Macchi as it struggles to end the country's economic crisis.
Sweden to set course for decision on euro entry
Sweden looks set to name a date for a referendum on entry to the euro. Swedish central bank deputy governor Lars Heikensten recently said in a speech that the most likely date for a referendum would be Autumn 2003. In an interview Swedish PM Goran…
Korean central bank warns of deflation risk
The Korean nation had better be prepared in the event deflation should spring up, the Bank of Korea (BOK) has said. The bank fears a Japan style downward spiral of prices, but acknowledged the fear was low.