Central Banks
RBA board members debate economic prospects
AUSTRALIA/SPEECH - The newest board member of Australia's central bank, Donald McGauchie, doubts whether there will be a quick return to economic growth, in sharp contrast to the views of the central bank's deputy governor Stephen Grenville.
Operational risk measurement- BOJ papers
CENTRAL BANK RESEARCH - The Bank of Japan's financial and payment system office has published a series of working papers on operational risk that have now been revised and improved following comments from readers.
ECB seminar on monetary analysis published-Mar 16
CENTRAL BANK SEMINAR - On Nov 20-21 2000 the European Central Bank organised a seminar for staff from central banks entitled "Monetary analysis: Tools and applications". The aim of the seminar was to obtain an overview of the various approaches used to…
ECB rate cut should come as no surprise
A series of weak data releases, corresponding stock market declines across Europe and the United States as well as a cut in interest rates by the Federal Open Market Committee has fuelled speculation over the European Central Bank's forthcoming interest…
SNB announces next tranche of gold sales
The Swiss National Bank is to sell 100 tonnes of gold by September
Prodi calls for more economic power for commission
Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission, repeated his calls for more economic power for the European Commission to act as a counter-weight to the European Central Bank.
Is inflation targeting feasible in Poland?-article
ARTICLE - "Is inflation targeting feasible in Poland?" is a new article in the journal The Economics of Transition, Volume 9: Issue 1, co-written by Peter Christoffersen at McGill University, and Torsten Slk and Robert Wescott at the International…
Q&A: New procedures for BoJ money mkt operations
ARTICLE - The Bank of Japan has published a short question and answer article about its new procedures for money market operations which started on Mar 19, 2001. It says that although the procedures are intended to produce the same effects as the "Zero…
Comparing price competitiveness of SE Asia exports
CENTRAL BANK RESEARCH - Zelal Kotan from the Central Bank of Turkey and Serdar Sayan from Bilkent University have written a paper titled "A comparison of the price competitiveness of Turkish and South East Asian exports in the European Union market in…
Hayami-BoJ to increase JGB outright buys if needed
Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami reiterated Mar 22, 2001 that the central bank will increase its outright purchases of government bonds only when needed.
ECB says central banks should keep oversight role
CENTRAL BANK RESEARCH - The European Central Bank on Mar 22, 2001 said that euro zone central banks should maintain a key role in banking supervision, arguing that their close contacts with commercial banks were crucial for crisis prevention.
US House Panel OKs Fed to pay banks interest
Small businesses and banks won the right to earn interest on their deposits under two bills passed on Mar 21, 2001 by the US House Financial Services subcommittee.
Thailand cbank stops offshore investment fund
The Bank of Thailand has halted the launch of a new fund to help Thai investors invest abroad because of fears that it might encourage capital outflows and destabilise the exchange rate
Venezuela Chamber asks court to fix cbank rates
A Venezuelan business chamber has filed an injunction in the supreme court demanding that it nullify a May 1999 agreement allowing banks to set interest rates on a case-by-case basis, local daily El Nacional reported on Mar 22, 2001.
Brazil hikes rates to permit future cuts
The Brazilian central bank has pushed up interest rates to 15.75% protraying this as a defensive more, designed to allow future rate cuts
Propping up the rupiah was 'right move'-deputy gov
Bank Indonesia has made the right move in propping up the rupiah, BI Deputy Governor Miranda S Goeltom said on Mar 22, 2001.
Swiss franc falls following SNB loosening
Following the SNB's rate cut yesterday the swiss franc has dropped on forex markets.
Predictable Uncertainty in Econ Forecasting-US Fed
RESEARCH PAPER - Neil R. Ericsson has written an paper titled "Predictable Uncertainty in Economic Forecasting" for the US Federal Reserve's series of International Finance Discussion Papers. This paper provides an introduction to predictable forecast…
S'pore sets new rules for bank private investments
SPEECH - Singapore's central bank said on Mar 21, 2001 it was proposing new rules for bank investments in private equity and venture capital that will allow flexibility while maintaining prudent standards. Ravi Menon, executive director of the Monetary…
The New Economy: Myths and Realities-Wadhwani
SPEECH - In his Travers Lecture at the London Guildhall University on Mar 20, 2001, Sushil Wadhwani, an external member of the Bank of England monetary policy committee, argues it is possible that measurement issues have led forecasters to overestimate…
Turkish cbank to adopt monetary policy committee
SPEECH - In his first speech as governor of the Central Bank of Turkey on Mar 19, 2001, Sureyya Serdengecti discusses the continuing liquidity problems faced the the country's state bank and how this is hampering the implementation of monetary policy. He…
Financial competition, risk and accountability
BOOK - A new book has just been published by Palgrave "Financial Competition, Risk and Accountability: British and German Experiences" edited by Frowen and McHugh. Recent decades have seen a sharp increase in financial competition and excessive risk…
Economic impact of regulatory reform - ECB paper
RESEARCH REPORT - Over the past couple of years, the European Union has embarked on an ambitious regulatory reform programme covering a number of network industries. Experts from the European Central Bank have prepared a report which analyses the…
Fed disappoints markets with 50 bp rate cut
The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Mar 20, 2001 by half a percentage point to 5.0%, continuing its aggressive effort to resuscitate the faltering economy but disappointing investors who had hoped for more.