Monetary Policy
ECB mulls voting change due to EU enlargement
European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg admitted for the first time on Mar 5, 2001 that European Union expansion could blunt the effectiveness of ECB policy-making and the bank's structure may need to adapt.
Fed governor Roger Ferguson reappointed until 2014
Roger Ferguson, the Federal Reserve vice-chair whose future has been put on ice by Capitol Hill Republicans since 1999, received a major vote of confidence from the Bush administration on Mar 5, 2001.
Singapore's Exchange Rate Policy - paper
This paper examines Singapore's experience with the exchange-rate based monetary policy system since its adoption in the early 1980s. It discusses the movements in the Singapore dollar exchange rate over the past two decades, and considers how the system…
The EMS crisis in retrospect-Eichengreen
This Centre for Economic and Policy Research discussion paper by Barry Eichengreen reconsiders the 1992/3 crisis in the European Monetary System in light of its emerging market successors. That episode was a predecessor of the Mexican and Asian crises in…
Fabius cool to idea of ECB counterweight - paper
French Finance Minister Laurent Fabius has distanced himself from suggestions there should be an "economic government" for the euro zone to form a counterweight to the European Central Bank, according to a newspaper interview published on Mar 2, 2001.
Dublin ECB date in doubt on foot-and-mouth fears
The likelihood of a planned European Central Bank meeting taking place in Dublin later this month was thrown into doubt on Mar 2, 2001 as Ireland stepped up measures against the risk of foot-and-mouth disease
Turkey to name deputy c.banker as governor-sources
Turkey will name central bank deputy governor Sureyya Serdengecti as governor of the bank after the resignation of Gazi Ercel over a financial crisis that slashed the value of the lira, government sources said on Mar 2, 2001.
US 'debt free' by 2030 - Alan Greenspan
Testifying on Mar 2, 2001 before the Committee on the Budget of the US House of Representatives, Fed chairman, Alan Greenspan, outlined the implications of the US goverment's extraordinaryly healthy fiscal position.
Fiscal Federalism & European Integration-Gramlich
US Federal Reserve governor Edward M. Gramlich and Fed economist Paul R. Wood write the latest International Finance Discussion Paper titled "Fiscal Federalism and European Integration: Implications for Fiscal and Monetary Policies".
Case for Eurozone monetary indicators? - Svensson
In a Bank for International Settlements working paper "Money and inflation in the Euro Area: A case for monetary indicators?" Stefan Gerlach and Lars E O Svensson find that the "real money gap" (the gap between current real balances and long-run…
ECB surprises by leaving rates unchanged
The European Central Bank on Mar 1, 2001 surprised financial markets by leaving interest rates unchanged, showing that it was not yet ready to follow a series of recent rate cuts by the world's other top central banks.
OECD's Visco -Fed should not overreact to slowdown
The U.S. Federal Reserve should not cut interest rates too much in the face of its slowing economy in case this jeopardised price stability, the chief economist for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Ignazio Visco, warned on Mar 1.
Turkey seeks World Banker's help to recover
Senior Turkish World Banker Kemal Dervis arrived in Ankara on Mar 1, 2001 for talks with the prime minister that many are hoping will herald the formation of a new economic team capable of restoring calm.
Central Bank Seigniorage: Czech Republic 1993-1997
Jacek Cukrowski from the CERGE-EI and Emil Stavrev from the Czech National Bank have written an article "Central Bank Seigniorage: Czech Republic 1993-1997". The authors present a new comprehensive framework for measuring total gross seigniorage and its…
EMU and Enlargement: A Review of Policy Issues
Lucio Vinhas de Souza (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Holger van Eden (NEI), Albert de Groot (NEI), Gerbert Romijn (NEI) and Elisabeth Ledrut (Dutch Central Bank) have co-authored a report "EMU and Enlargement: A Review of Policy Issues". This report is…
Greenspan testimony-unsure about consumer optimism
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan offered a gloomier assessment of the U.S. economic outlook when he testified to the House Financial Services Committee on Feb 28, 2001, suggesting he no longer is sure that consumer confidence is strong enough to…
BOJ cuts rates on weak economy, deflation fears
The Bank of Japan surprised financial markets and pleased politicians on Feb 28, 2001 by cutting its key interest rates in response to a sudden turn for the worse in the world's second-largest economy.
NZ govt monetary review suggests adopting MPC
A government review of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's monetary policy by Swedish academic Professor Lars Svensson recommended the setting up of a formal monetary policy committee and altering the RBNZ's inflation objective to more formally target 1.5…
BOJ says to launch new loan facility on March 16
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) said on Feb 28 it would launch its new standby Lombard-type lending facility on March 16.
S.Africa's Mboweni not worried by Jan CPIX rise
South Africa's central bank governor Tito Mboweni said on Feb 28, 2001 he was not worried by an unexpected rise in the bank's targeted inflation measure during January 2001, and he still expected its target to be met by 2002.
IMF, Kenya to negotiate on reform package
An IMF team will visit Kenya next month to push for further reforms to put the country's aid programme back on track, officials said on Feb 28, 2001.
IMF urges UK maintain cautious fiscal stance
The IMF strongly approves of the UK's current monetary and fiscal policy framework saying that it has contributed to the longest period of sustained non-inflationary output growth in 30 years, but warned Chancellor Gordon Brown not to loosen the public…
East Timor - Central bank precursor inaugurated
The East Timor Central Payments Office, expected to become the territory's central bank, was officially inaugurated Feb 28 by Sergio Vieira de Mello, the chief of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor.
Selected IMF working papers published
The IMF has recently published a number of working papers on subjects ranging from inflation targeting, central bank independence, to endogenous growth. Links to the papers are given.