Monetary Policy
Financial Policy and Central Banking in Japan
BOOK - A new book by T. Cargill, M. Hutchison and T. Ito analyses how the bank-dominated financial system - a key element of the oft-heralded "Japanese economic model" - broke down in the 1990s and spawned sweeping reforms.
IMF Concludes Article IV with South Africa
SOUTH AFRICA - On 19 March 2001, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund concluded the Article IV consultation with South Africa.
Rules tightened by Philippine central bank
MANILA - The Philippine central bank said on 11 May that it has expanded the duties and responsibilities of the board of directors of banks to strengthen the banking system.
Yugoslavia re-admitted to World Bank after 8 years
YUGOSLAVIA - Yugoslavia rejoined the World Bank on 8 May, eight years after being expelled for its involvement in Balkan wars, noting that the move paves the way for future loans to help the impoverished country's economic recovery.
Bank of England lowers base rate
UK - The Bank of England announced at 12pm on May 10 that the UK's main interest rate measure, the repo rate, would be reduced by 0.25% to 5.25%.
ECB cuts interest rates by 0.5%
Summary - The European Central Bank (ECB) has made a surprise cut in its key interest rate reducing it by a quarter point to 4.5%.
Inflation still main concern of ECB
GERMANY - European Central Bank council member Vitor Constancio said on 10 May that inflation still remained the bank's main concern.
Banks refusing funds from BOJ
JAPAN - Japanese monetary policy encountered a significant hitch yesterday, 9 May, after it failed to persuade banks to accept any more funds. The money was virtually free as interest rates in Japan are close to zero.
Sir Eddie George at the University of Zurich
SPEECH - The Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Eddie George, gave a speech at the Swiss Institute of International Studies, University of Zurich on May 7.
Klein to hold talks with Israel's prime minister
ISRAEL - David Klein, governor of the Central Bank of Israel is to meet with Ariel Sharon, the prime minister of Israel, in the next few days in an attempt to resolve the dispute which led Mr Klein to shelve a cut in interest rates at the end of April.
Chief denies Bank of Japan Governor will resign
JAPAN - Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, categorically ruled out the possibility that Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami will resign soon. He was speaking on 9 May.
Korea cbank expects inflation to fall
The Bank of Korea's latest inflation report enviages inflation falling to 3% in the second half of 2001
Central bank governor says China is stabilising
CHINA - Dai Xianglong, the governor of the central bank of China, said on 9 May that his country had made the world economy more stable.
OECD Economic Outlook
RESEARCH - The OECD's Chief Economist, Ignazio Visco, presented the analysis and projections contained in the Economic Outlook No. 69 at a news conference at OECD headquarters in Paris on 3 May. The publication is available in English, French and German…
Bank Indonesia - Annual Report 2000
REPORT - Bank Indonesia reports that economic recovery has improved and that economic growth in the year exceeded expectation.
UK poised for rate reduction
UK - The Bank of England faces pressure to cut interest rates tomorrow, May 9, as it begins its monthly two day meeting.
US households more buoyant than generally believed
ARTICLE - The financial position of US households ranks high on the list of concerns about the economic and financial outlook. The fear is that a negative personal saving rate and record debt-to-income levels point to a potential sharp retrenchment in…
Good news reported by latest Fed Beige Book
RESEARCH - More evidence that the US economy has turned a corner after a steep six-month slide is reported in the latest Beige Book summary of regional economic conditions.
A Simple Model for Inflation in Brazil
RESEARCH - Working Paper No. 18 from the Bank of Brazil develops a model to investigate the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. The paper also describes the results of stochastic simulations designed to investigate the behaviour of various optimal…
Price level convergence and inflation in Europe
A paper by John H. Rogers at the Federal Reserve "Price level convergence, relative prices, and inflation in Europe" finds evidence to support the concept of price level convergence and investigates the extent to which divergence of national inflation…
Interview with Governor of Malaysian CB
SPEECH - The Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia gave an Interview for the Banking Supplement 2001 of The Star newspaper on 30 April 2001. The Governor gave his views on the developments, challenges and opportunities facing the Malaysian banking…
Bank of Canada report
REPORT - The Bank of Canada released its semi-annual Monetary Policy Report on May 1.
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.