Monetary Policy
China's c bank plans payment system development
CHINA - The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank of China, has selected a database and application development tool for its China National Advanced Payment System (CNAPS).
Berlusconi defends central bank powers
ITALY - Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Friday threw his weight behind the Bank of Italy after a group of lawmakers proposed to strip the central bank of banking surveillance powers as part of a wider reform involving a number of regulatory bodies.
BOJ's Hayami - FX moves need further monitoring
JAPAN - Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami said Friday the 0.8% decline in Japanese consumer prices last year was "normal," apparently attempting to downplay concerns about deflation weighing on the economy.
Kazakh MPs call for c bank no-confidence vote
KAZAKHSTAN - Source Khabar Television. [Presenter] At a plenary sitting of the Majlis [lower house of Kazakh parliament] today, deputies proposed a no-confidence motion against the chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, Grigoriy Marchenko.
Speech by Anthony Santomero of Philadelphia Fed
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Great Expectations: Monetary Policy in Today's Economy' Santomero said the U.S. Federal Reserve has room to cut interest rates further from their already rock-bottom level if need be.
ECB head predicts harmonisation call
EUROPE - Wim Duisenberg, European Central Bank president, yesterday forecast the introduction of euro notes and coins would lead to public demand for more harmonisation in the European Union, with particular focus on taxes.
Testimony of Wim Duisenberg, ECB President
SPEECH - In his testimony to the European Parliament Duisenberg said that "the psychological impact of the cash changeover has given a great boost to the feeling of fraternisation" among Europeans, he said. "The public will start to exert pressure on…
Speech by William Poole of the St. Louis Fed Bank
SPEECH - Poole said in the speech titled 'Flation' that within the confines of the goal of price stability, the central bank has some flexibility to lean against fluctuations in output and employment but that this goal should not be compromised in…
Fed's Poole - C banks mustn't risk price stability
US - St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole warned on Monday that central banks should not chase economic stability at the expense of stable prices.
Speech by US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill
SPEECH - In a sign of growing U.S. alarm over the state of Japan's economy, US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill scrapped the Bush administration's no-lecture policy toward the Japanese government and said "decisive actions" are needed to return Japan to…
ECB Monthly Bulletin January 2002
REPORT - The European Central Bank published its January 2002 Monthly Bulletin on 24 January.
ECB sees gradual recovery in 2002, lower inflation
GERMANY - The European Central Bank said on Thursday the euro zone economy showed signs of a recovery later this year and reiterated inflation should drop safely below its two-percent ceiling.
Bank of Canada Monetary Policy Report Update
REPORT - The Bank of Canada has released its Update to the November Monetary Policy Report, in which it discusses economic and financial trends in the context of Canada's inflation-control strategy, 23 January.
Speech by David Dodge, Governor of Bank of Canada
SPEECH - In the speech Dodge said that economic developments in Canada since the November Report, and the profile for growth outlined in the Update, suggest that the amount of slack in the economy through 2002 will likely be somewhat greater than assumed…
Bank of Canada Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Bank of Canada lowers key policy interest rate by 1/4 percentage point to 2 per cent, 15 January.
Voters 'will back euro' if economic tests passed
UK - Tony Blair would win a euro referendum just by saying that Britain had passed the five economic tests for joining, according to a poll published on Wednesday.
US economists to free up Argentine bank system
ARGENTINA - Adam Lerrick and Allan Meltzer, two prominent US economists, have proposed a new scheme to allow Argentines to use the money locked up in the banking system without triggering a collapse of the banks - arguably the single largest problem…
How to find a president for the ECB
FRANCE - A short question and answer session about the European Central Bank presidency published in the London edition of the Financial Times, 24 January.
French firm sues over euro notes
FRANCE - Have euro notes design breached copyright? A French company claims a map of Europe printed on every euro bank note breaches a copyright it owns on the design. The ECB does not agree.
Greenspan: US economy is picking up
US - The US economy seems finally to be climbing out of recession, Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said.
The Inflation Forecast and the Loss Function
RESEARCH - A new paper by Lars E.O Svensson, Princeton University, CEPR and NBER, December 2001.
BIS research papers
RESEARCH - Research from the BIS 'Comparing monetary policy operating procedures across the United States, Japan and the euro area', Monetary and Economic Department, Bank for International Settlements, December 2001.
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee Minutes
MINUTES - Minutes of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee Meeting held on 9 and 10 January 2002. Release date 23 January 2002.
Speech by Dr Bimal Jalan, Reserve Bank of India
SPEECH - In the speech 'Indian Banking and Finance: Managing New Challenges' Bimal Jalan said that uncertainty over the economic situation was likely to continue for the next six to nine months, but India is likely to show one of the highest rates of…