Central Banks
African central bankers to meet
Bank of Uganda (BOU), German Technical Cooperation and the Swedish International Development Agency will host central bank executives from eastern and southern Africa during a conference aimed at forging a stable financial system.
UAE central bank's assets grow 9.5%
The UAE Central Bank has reported a 9.5 per cent increase in its assets during the first half of 2004 to Dh59.6 billion from Dh54.5 billion at the close last year.
IMF chief urges Argentina to resolve debt plan
The head of the International Monetary Fund urged Argentina on Tuesday to complete a $100 billion debt restructuring to sustain its recovery from economic crisis.
ECB may raise inflation forecast
The European Central Bank will revise slightly upward its 2004 and 2005 inflation forecasts in its new quarterly economic projections, central bank officials in the euro zone have told Reuters.
Russia may increase euro reserves
Russia's Central Bank may increase the euro component of its hard currency reserves, according to First Deputy Bank Chairman Alexei Ulyukayev.
BoE's Bean on global demographic change
In a speech 'Global demographic change: Some implications for central banks' given on 28 August, Charles Bean of the Bank of England said that although central banks will need to adapt to the changes brought about by an ageing population, for the most…
Fed's Greenspan on global demographic change
In a speech on 'Global demographic change' given on 27 August, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve warned that an ageing U.S. population will strain public finances and hurt the economy without swift fixes to the safety net, such as raising the age for…
RBA's Macfarlane on Asia and Australian growth
In a speech on 'Geography, Resources or Institutions?' given on 25 August Ian Macfarlane of the RBA said the growth of Asia had contributed substantially to Australia's economic performance by helping reduce its isolation from world economic activity.
Russian central bank misses profit target
The Russian Central Bank missed its target for paying profit to the federal budget by 1.5 billion rubles in the first half of 2004, according to Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Shatalov on Tuesday 31 August.
South African economy shows upswing
South Africa's economy grew by 3.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2004, its best performance since the end of 2002, the official statistics agency reported on Tuesday 31 August.
NBS leaves key interest rates unchanged
The Board of the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) decided to keep interest rates unchanged at its monthly session on Monday August 30.
IMF's Rato to visit Argentina
Rodrigo Rato, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, was due in Buenos Aires on Tuesday for talks on Argentina's financial situation.
IMF suggests flexible rates for China
In its most recent report on the Chinese economy the International Monetary Fund warned that a "soft landing is not yet assured" and recommended the introduction of a more flexible exchange rate quickly.
Poll thinks ECB unlikely to increase rates
A recent poll of economists showed that there are strong expectations that the ECB will not raise interest rates until the first half of 2005, waiting for proof of a pickup in consumer demand which would protect against a global slowdown.
Canada hints at September rate rise
In a speech on August 23, Bank of Canada Deputy Governor David Longworth gave strong signals that the bank is contemplating raising its overnight interest rate from two percent at its September 8 meeting.
Sweden leaves rate unchanged
The Swedish central bank left the repo rate unchanged at two percent at its meeting on Thursday 19 August. The decision to keep the interest rate at the record low for the fifth consecutive month came despite recent reports of higher than anticipated GDP…
China to intervene and save D'Long
China's central bank may be preparing to intervene to prevent the failure of troubled private conglomorate D'Long Group, in an unprecedented move to avoid financial chaos in China's banking system.
Thailand raises interest rates
The central bank of Thailand raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage points on Wednesday 25 August, bringing its repo rate to 1.5 percent. This follows a series of interest rate cuts which started in 2001, and comes amid signs of accelerating inflation…
Taiwan under pressure to raise rates
The Central Bank of China, Taiwan's central bank, may be under pressure to increase interest rates for the first time since December 2000, according to news reports.
ECB study finds inflation targets do work
A recently published working paper by the European Central Bank investigates the impact of inflation targeting, and concludes that explicit inflation targets do have a significant effect on inflation expectations and persistence.
Poland raises interest rate by half percent
The Polish central bank raised its main interest rate to 6.5 percent on August 24, the third rise in as many months. The central bank took the measures to address inflation, which has been rising following Poland's entry into the EU.
Australia's Stevens on economic forecasting
Glenn Stevens, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, gave a speech to the Economic Society of Victoria on August 17 on "The thankless task of economic forecasting". He discussed the accuracy of forecasts, how to make forecasts useful, and…
South Africa's Mboweni on challenges in Africa
In a speech on 'Challenges of central banking in Africa' given on 5 August, T T Mboweni, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, spoke about how the traditional challenges facing central banks apply to African countries, what effet circumstances…
Brazil leaves rates unchanged
Brazil's central bank decided to leave its interest rate at 16 per cent, as the country's economic recovery starts to result in rising inflation.