Monetary Policy
History shows East Europe pitfalls on way to euro
FEATURE - Investors are already betting Eastern Europe's road to the euro will be remarkably short, but the history of European monetary union shows just how many hairpin bends and potholes still litter the way.
Ex-Turkmenistan banker accused of loan fraud
TURKMENISTAN - The top prosecutor's office has accused a former central-bank chief of embezzling $120 million in German and Swiss loans in one of this isolated nation's biggest corruption scandals since independence from the Soviet Union, according to…
No reason to bar Chinese bank offices
TAIWAN - The central bank doesn't have reasons not to allow mainland Chinese banks to set up representative offices in Taiwan, the Commercial Times reports, quoting Central Bank Governor Perng Fai-nan.
Some E Europe states may need longer in ERM2-Noyer
UK - European Central Bank vice-president Christian Noyer reiterated on Friday it could be desirable for some eastern European accession states to remain in the European exchange rate mechanism (ERM-II) for longer than the minimum requirement of two…
Duisenberg sees inflation below 2 pct in May
NETHERLANDS - European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg said on Friday he expected euro zone inflation to fall below its two percent tolerance ceiling in May 2002.
Belarus bank chief dismisses currency union idea
BELARUS - Meeting deputies of the Belarusian National Assembly's House of Representative [lower house of parliament] today, the chairman of the National Bank of Belarus, Pyotr Prakapovich, said that the introduction of a single currency of the union…
Speech by Eugenio Domingo Solans, ECB, 9 Mar
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'European financial integration and the international role of the euro' Solans said that the credibility of the ECB's monetary policy is demonstrated by the euro zone's low inflation.
Speech by Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, 13 Mar
SPEECH - Greenspan gave a speech titled 'The U.S. Economy' on Wednesday in which he repeated that U.S. economic activity was improving, and urged a greater emphasis on savings to improve the long-term vitality of the expansion.
IMF Press Briefing, 13 March
PRESS BRIEFING - Transcript of a Press Briefing by Thomas C. Dawson, Director, External Relations Department, International Monetary Fund, London, 13 March.
ECB Monthly Bulletin March 2002
REPORT - The European Central Bank published its March 2002 Monthly Bulletin on 14 March.
The road to the euro for Eastern Europe
FEATURE - Eastern European states are not only on course to join the European Union but will also join the European single currency in the years to come says a report by Reuters.
ECB optimistic about euro zone upturn, inflation
GERMANY - The European Central Bank on Thursday again voiced confidence the euro zone economy had bottomed out and the region's growth should gradually return to full speed before the end of the year.
Green shoots of recovery may be on the way
US - Alan Greenspan continued his new optimistic mantra that the U.S. economy is pulling out of its slump and pointed out that even employment, one of the last indicators to rebound, is showing signs of life.
Hayami - To continue to do utmost to stabilize mkt
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan will continue to do its utmost to stabilize the financial markets, BOJ Governor Masaru Hayami said at Thursday's meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, according to a government official, underscoring the BOJ's…
IMF's Koehler says world econ in recovery process
AUSTRIA - International Monetary Fund Managing Director Horst Koehler said on Thursday that the global economy had avoided recession and was now on a process of recovery.
EMU: The End of the Beginning
RESEARCH - 'Hot topics' from the Dallas Fed. This provides a look at the European economic and monetary union so far and covers the introduction of the euro banknotes and coins. Also looks at what the future may hold for EMU.
Indonesia court convicts c bank gov of graft
INDONESIA - An Indonesian court on Wednesday sentenced central bank governor Sjahril Sabirin to three years in jail for corruption over a long-running banking scandal, Reuters reports.
Central bank independence should be preserved-IMF
UK - The IMF on Wednesday criticised moves in Israel and Poland to limit the independence of their central banks.
ECB's Noyer questions strong dlr after US tariffs
FRANCE - European Central Bank Vice President Christian Noyer on Wednesday said the U.S. dollar was over valued against the euro and suggested new U.S. steel tariffs were the latest evidence of this.
RBA's Macfarlane to give speech on 22 March
AUSTRALIA - Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Ian Macfarlane has two speeches scheduled in coming weeks, his first public outings since December.
Chile central bank cuts rates 75 bp to 4.75%
CHILE - Chile's Central Bank lowered its benchmark monetary policy lending rate 75 basis points to a nominal 4.75% at a monthly policy making meeting Tuesday.
Speech by Yutaka Yamaguchi, Bank of Japan, 7 Mar
JAPAN - In the speech Yamaguchi offers his views on systemic risk conceding that he may have raised more questions than provided answers for central banks. He stresses that central banks must continue to pursue these issues to discharge their…
Speech by William Poole, St Louis Fed Bank, 8 Mar
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'The Role of Finance in the Investment Bust of 2001' Poole likens the current recession to the coldness of space and the planet pluto in particular. Are we in "the pluto recession"? "The astronomers argue about whether Pluto…
Are we in recession? No we're on the planet Pluto
US - Amid the was it or wasn't it debate about the U.S. recession, a senior Federal Reserve official has coined a new phrase for the economic downturn that began last March, dubbing it: "the Pluto recession."