Monetary Policy
Optimal Degrees of Transparency in Mon Pol-Jensen
"Optimal Degrees of Transparency in Monetary Policymaking" is a new discussion paper by Henrik Jensen published by the Centre for Economic and Policy Research in London. He discusses the advantages and disadvantages of transparency. A good paper for all…
Do Monetary Handcuffs Restrain Leviathan?-A. Rose
A new discussion paper called "Do Monetary Handcuffs Restrain Leviathan? Fiscal Policy in Extreme Exchange Rate Regimes" by Andrew K Rose , Antonio Fatas, has just been published by the Centre for Economic and Policy Research. It looks at case studies of…
RBA upbeat but says U.S. still main risk
Australia's central bank painted a cautious picture of the economy on Feb 12, 2001, saying domestic growth had slowed and much depended on the outlook for the United States. Less than a week after slashing official interest rates by half a percentage…
BIS cbankers expect world economy to pick up
Central bankers meeting in Hong Kong on Feb 12, 2001 agreed that the global economy is now slowing but will return to growth in the second half of 2001, said an official who briefed reporters. Andrew Crockett, general manager of the Bank for…
Kazakh currency expected to devalue 5% in 2001
Kazakhstan's currency, the tenge, will not devalue by more than 5-6% this year, National Bank head Grigory Marchenko told Interfax news agency. He said that Inflation is targeted to drop to 6-8% this year from 9.8% in 2000. The central bank will be able…
Fed's Minehan sees 2001 U.S. growth near 2 pct
Boston Federal Reserve President Cathy Minehan said on Feb 12, 2001 she expects U.S. economic growth to start accelerating again later in 2001, helped by the central bank's January 2001 rate cuts."I expect activity to increase later in the year, and…
ECB Hamalainen-Eurozone needs structural changes
The euro zone still needs to make further strides in structural changes if it is to see a potential economic growth rate similar to that of the U.S., European Central Bank executive board member Sirkka Haemaelaeinen said on Feb 12, 2001. "Certainly, we…
CNB not to undershoot target again- Frait
The Czech National Bank (CNB) should not undershoot its inflation target in 2001 again and must react in time, said Jan Frait, a member of the CNB Bank board. "There is probably no danger that we undershoot the target once again, otherwise it could be a…
West African Monetary Institute gets officers
The Committee of Governors of the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) has appointed four of the five senior officers to work with the Institute's Director-General, M.O. Ojo, a statement from the ECOWAS Secretariat said in Abuja on Feb 12. According to…
Japan cuts interest rates
The Bank of Japan has decided to cut its largely symbolic discount interest rate to 0.35% from 0.5%. However, Japan's key interest rate, called the overnight call rate, has been kept at 0.25%. The Bank of Japan (BoJ), led by governor Masaru Hayami, has…
Buba Stark-EU fin min council should censure Irish
Ireland should be censured by the full council of European Union finance ministers, for not adhering to its commitment to tighter fiscal policy, Deutsche Bundesbank Vice President Juergen Stark said on Feb. 9, according to German newspaper Boersen…
Russia Duma ratifies single currency with Belarus
The Russia State Duma budget committee on Feb 9, 2001 decided to recommend that the lower house of parliament ratify the agreement between Russia and Belarus on the introduction of a single currency and on setting up a single monetary emissions center…
Swedish Riksbank says rate policy right for now
Sweden's central bank said on Feb 9, 2001 inflation prospects were favourable and its inflation target achievable in coming years, and there was no need right now for further monetary policy measures."Today, inflation prospects seem to be favourable,"…
Bank of Israel's Fiszman moves to monetary dept
Mr. Gabriel Fiszman was appointed Assistant Director of the Monetary Department at the Bank of Israel on Feb 8. Mr Fiszman has previously been an adviser to the governor, David Klein, and the head of external relations and spokesperson. In his new post,…
Bank of England cuts rates by 0.25%
The Bank of England has cut its key UK interest rate by 0.25% to 5.75%. It is the first cut for nearly two years. The decision, announced at noon in London on Feb 8, 2001, followed the latest two day monthly meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary…
Buba's Stark says ECB should meet less often
The European Central Bank should hold council meetings once a month rather than every two weeks, Bundesbank Vice President Juergen Stark said in remarks published on Feb 8, 2001. Stark, who is not a member of the ECB's council and has no say in ECB…
Nigerian cbank announces new investment instrument
Nigerian Central Bank announced on Feb. 8, 2001 a new long-tenor money market investment instrument to expand the West African country's financial market. The bank said in a statement the new instrument, known as "CBN Certificates", would be available in…
BOJ Hayami-econ not at risk of deflationary spiral
Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami said Feb. 8 the central bank will stick to its current easy monetary policy to support the economy, but added that the bank would watch carefully for any sign of an economic slowdown. "The BOJ is willing to keep its…
Bank of Korea reduces short-term rate to 5%
The Bank of Korea lowered on Feb. 8, 2001 its key short-term-rate target by a quarter point, signaling the need to bolster the sagging economy had overtaken previous concerns about inflationary pressures. The central bank's monetary policy committee cut…
Tanzania's Dec annual inflation drops to 5.5 pct
Tanzania's overall annual inflation rate eased to 5.5 percent in the year to December 2000 from 5.7 percent in November, helped by a marginal drop in food prices, the central bank said on Feb 8, 2001.Food prices account for at least 70 percent of the…
CNB Bank Board leaves interest rates unchanged
The Czech National Bank (CNB) Board made no monetary decisions at its session on Feb. 8, 2001, Pavel Zubek of the CNB's PR department told reporters after the session. The Bank Board left rates unchanged at the last monetary session held two weeks ago as…
Sweden should raise rates soon, OECD says
The OECD on Feb 8, 2001 called on Sweden's central bank, which has signalled it plans to keep interest rates on hold for now, to tighten monetary policy soon. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a country report the Riksbank…
Communications plays key role in mon policy - ECB
Communication policy plays a vital part in supporting the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary policy by helping the central bank achieve its price stability goal and in assuring public acceptance of policy decisions, the ECB said in its report for…