Monetary Policy
Brazil bank acts to boost Real
BRAZIL - Brazil's central bank said yesterday it would inject $1.5bn (£976m) into the currency market this month to help steady the Real, which has fallen to a record low amid uncertainties ahead of October's presidential elections.
ECB holds rates steady
GERMANY - The European Central Bank's governing council decided on Thursday to leave the eurozone's benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.25 per cent.
Argentina to make payment on IMF debt Thursday
ARGENTINA - Argentina will today make a scheduled 52 mln US$ payment on its IMF debt, said central bank chairman Aldo Pignanelli.
China's central bank tackles money laundering
CHINA - The People's Bank of China has formed a division to combat money laundering, a crime that involved up to 200 billion yuan (HK$188.6 billion) on the mainland last year.
Bank of England leaves interest rates at 4%
UK - The Bank of England's monetary policy committee on Thursday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4 per cent, a 38-year low.
Germany clears way for new bank rules
GERMANY - The major remaining barrier to a global shake-up of bank reserves has been removed after the German government agreed to a politically-sensitive compromise over lending to small companies.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand News Release
NEWS RELEASE - OCR increased to 5.75 per cent, 3 July.
Reserve Bank of Australia Media Release
MEDIA RELEASE - Early release of cash rate information by Bloomberg, 3 July.
Bank of England News Release
NEWS RELEASE - Bank of England Euro Bills, 2 July.
Speech by W. McDonough, New York Fed Bank, 2 Jul
SPEECH - In a speech titled 'The importance of central bank independence in achieving price stability' McDonough extolled the virtues of central bank independence and reiterated the importance of maintaining price stability for an economy.
IMF Press Briefing by Thomas Dawson
PRESS BRIEFING - Transcript of a Press Briefing by Thomas C. Dawson, Director, External Relations Department, International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C., 2 July.
Open letter by Kenneth Rogoff to Joseph Stiglitz
LETTER - An open letter by Kenneth Rogoff, Economic Counsellor and Director of Research, International Monetary Fund, to Joseph Stiglitz, author of Globalization and Its Discontents (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, June 2002), Washington D.C., 2 July.
Speech by Wim Duisenberg, ECB President, 2 Jul
SPEECH - Duisenberg said in his introductory statement to the European Parliament "I have seen some worrying developments in fiscal policy in some countries in the last few months," adding that it was vital that all countries had their budgets close to…
Norges Bank Press Conference, 3 July
PRESS CONFERENCE - Monetary policy meeting of Norges Bank's Executive Board / Inflation Report 2/ 2002.
Norges Bank Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Norges Bank increases interest rates, 3 July.
Norges Bank's Inflation Report 2, 2002
REPORT - The Inflation Report discusses developments in the Norwegian economy and other factors that influence the inflation outlook. In addition, the balance of risks and uncertainty associated with the inflation projections are assessed.
Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
RESEARCH - The Behavior of Federal Funds Futures Prices over the Monetary Policy Cycle by Jeff Moore and Richard Austin, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Economic Review, Second Quarter 2002.
Answering tough online questions in 11 languages
ARTICLE - The change-over to the euro at the start of this year posed numerous challenges not only for banks and businesses across much of Europe but, as the Financial Times investigated on Wednesday, it also posed problems for the team of writers,…
Demand must moderate, Sir Edward George warns
UK - Sir Edward George, governor of the Bank of England, has warned that "domestic demand will have to moderate of its own accord" or "we'll have to put rates up" He was speaking in an interview with a Scotland based newspaper.
South Africa's Reserve Bank in Atlanta mission
SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa's central bank governor will meet leading African-Americans in Atlanta next week in an effort to boost US investment in the country.
Former Ugandan central bank chief in 'civil jail'
UGANDA - The East African newspaper reported on Monday that the former governor of Uganda's central bank, Dr Sulaiman Kiggundu, was currently being held in jail for not paying a $360,000 debt.
RBNZ raises main interest rate to 5.75 - up 0.25%
NEW ZEALAND - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand said it has decided to increase the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 5.75 pct so that they no longer encourage accelerated spending although further increases were now "rather less likely" than was…
Brazilian currency hits another record low
BRAZIL - Brazil may have won the World Cup for the fifth time last Sunday but the harsh realities of life return as the country's currency yesterday hit another record low. The governor of Brazil's central bank said that markets were ignoring the country…
Radicals want Polish central bank chief dismissed
POLAND - The Self-defence farmers' trade union (Samoobrona) radical farmers' union filed a draft resolution with the Sejm (lower house of parliament) on Wednesday for a dismissal of central bank head Leszek Balcerowicz.