Monetary Policy
Central bank denies meeting on ringgit
MALAYSIA - Malaysia's central bank has denied market rumours of any meeting or statement on the ringgit peg.
Bank must cut rates to avoid slump
UK - Britain faced warnings to cut interest rates to head off the risk of economic slowdown.
Currency crisis could oust Wahid
INDONESIA - The Indonesian rupiah has plummeted to new lows. In April 2001, Indonesia was rocked by more political instability as Indonesian President, Abdurrahman Wahid, was threatened with impeachment.
Sri Lanka halts slide as central bank steps in
SRI LANKA - Sri Lanka's rupee ended a two-day plunge of more than three percent on May 3, firming at the close after the central bank sold dollars in the market for the second successive day.
Supereconomies face clashes
EUROPE - Central bank politics is assuming an intriguing role in attempted reversal of the slowdown of the US economy and spreading effects on other parts of the world.
Main comments from ECB's Issing speech
SPEECH - Edited highlights of a speech by Otmar Issing, chief economist of the European Central Bank, at a business seminar in London on May 3.
Rate to be cut before inflation hits target
REPORT - A poll showed that the biggest group of economists still believes the ECB will cut its benchmark rate from 4.75 percent next month even though inflation is heading up, not down.
Ex-BOJ Fukui warns policy shift has dangers
TOKYO - The Bank of Japan's (BOJ) recent adoption of a radically different easy money policy risks driving the yen to excessively low levels and, worse, could set a profligate government on the path to fiscal bankruptcy, a former deputy governor of the…
G7 accept Japanese financial reform will happen
JAPAN - The chief of Japan's financial watchdog said on May 1 members of the Group of Seven (G7) nations at a weekend meeting in Washington had expressed understanding of the government's efforts to undertake structural reform.
Rate cut doubt after new data published
UK - Buoyant UK consumer data released on May 2 has added to the interest rate dilemma faced by the Bank of England.
Making EMU Work: Some Lessons from the 1990s
ARTICLE - Jorg Bibow lectures at the University of Hamburg on central banking and European integration. This working paper investigates the lessons learned from Europe's convergence process of the 1990s.
London set for May-day monopoly mayhem
LONDON - Anti-capitalist demonstrators are preparing to target offices of the IMF and World Bank in London in riots planned for Tuesday, May 1.
Parliament committee grills new policy adviser
LONDON - Kate Barker, due to join the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in June, testified before parliament's Treasury Select Committee on May 1.
BoE's George 'Surprised' By Weak 1Q GDP Data
UK - Bank of England Governor Eddie George said Tuesday that he was caught off guard by the weakness of U.K. output during the first quarter of this year.
Bank of Japan Mar 19 meeting minutes
TOKYO - Key points from minutes issued by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) on May 1 from the meeting of its Policy Board on Mar 19.
Shadow Committee slams Fed
According to the US Shadow Open Market Committee the Fed had lsot sight "of its long-run inflation objective of price stability" in its recent series of rate cuts.
Government and Innovation Policy in South Africa
ARTICLE - In this article Sunil Mani of the United Nations University, Institute for New Technologies analyses the South African Experience of Government and Innovation Policy since 1994.
IMF Establish Joint Regional Training Centre
EUROPE - The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Horst Kohler, and the Minister of Finance for Brazil, Pedro Sampaio Malan, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a Joint Regional Training Center for Latin America (BTC)…
Call for Italian monitoring
ITALY - The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has called for a joint watchdog to monitor Italy's banking and insurance sectors.
Working papers from the Bank of England
The Bank of England has released four working papers addressing ICT spending in the UK; the real interest rate gap as an inflation indicator; sticky prices, and trends in UK company profitability.
Argentine plan approved by finance leaders
ARGENTINA - Argentina's Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo was in Washington over the weekend of 28-29 Apr to attend the Spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. He outlined what he proposes to do to put Argentina back on track to…
Commission paper highlights euro challenges
A new publication by the European Commission surveys the first two years of the euro's existence and highlights some of the challenges ahead.
RBA will make rates decision at meeting on 1 May
AUSTALIA - The Reserve Bank of Australia board meets tomorrow, 1 May, to consider whether the future risks to the Australian economy warrant further interest rate reductions. And according to market economists the decision will be a finely balanced one.
Russia and Denmark plan economic cooperation
DENMARK - A two-day conference devoted to problems of economic cooperation between Denmark and Russia is opening in Copenhagen today, 1 May.