Central Banks
China WTO to boost HK banks, GDP growth - HKMA
China's looming entry into the World Trade Organisation will boost financial services and raise Hong Kong gross domestic product growth by upto 1%, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the territory's de facto central bank.
IMF warns of deepening economic crisis in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe faces a "deepening" economic crisis unless the government reverses its missteps of the past two years by cutting back on defense and public sector wages, the International Monetary Fund warned Wednesday.
International reserve level still strong, says BNM
Bank Negara Malaysia said its international reserves have declined by only RM1.8 billion since end-1999. From The Business Times (Malaysia)
BIS says US gold scheme suit 'without merit'
The Swiss-based Bank for International Settlements rejected as baseless on Tuesday a US lawsuit alleging the BIS conspired with central banks and major international investment houses to keep the price of gold low.
Buba's Welteke says ECB rates appropriate now
Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke said on Tuesday that current Eurozone interest rates were appropriate and reiterated that the European Central Bank's monetary policy was not hampering economic growth.
Czech central bank concerned about external growth
A possible slowdown of Western European economies is identified as a risk to growth in the coming months, according to minutes released Tuesday by the Czech National Bank from the most recent policy meeting.
Dutch inflation harms competitive position-Wellink
The Netherlands' competitive position is deteriorating due to inflation above the European average and higher wage demands, Dutch central bank president Nout Wellink said in an interview with a Dutch newspaper.
Manila may cut reserve requirements in January
Philippine central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura said the bank may delay lowering bank reserve requirements until January next year.
Failure to reach agreement over ex-Yugo gold
The governors and vice-governors of central banks which emerged after the break-up of the former Yugoslav federation failed to reach an agreement on the distribution of gold and foreign currency reserves at the International Bank for Settlements in Basel…
Brazil cbank chief loses cool in Congress hearing
Brazil's master of monetary policy, central bank chief Arminio Fraga, lost his calm demeanor for once on Tuesday in a rare outburst, slamming a left-wing lawmaker who accused the bank of not doing enough to cut interest rates.
Uruguay to see 2% growth in 2001
Uruguay's economy minister said Tuesday he expects the small South American economy to shake two years of recession and economic stagnation and grow by 2% in 2001.
Slovak cbank to lower reserve requirement in 2001
Some monetary policy instruments of the National Bank of Slovakia will undergo changes in the future, according to vice governor Elena Kohutikova.
Welteke against hasty Emu entry for new members
One day after the signing of the agreement in Nice, Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke has warned against the hasty acceptance of new members into the EU's monetary union.
US academic applauds S.Africa's monetary policy
A leading Harvard University academic endorsed the South African Reserve Bank's inflation targeting on Tuesday and said the country's monetary policy was in sound health.
Romania c.bank head sees 2001 inflation lower
Romania's central bank acting governor Emil Ghizari said on Tuesday inflation was expected to slow down to between 22% to 25% next year from an official estimate of about 40% in 2000.His prediction was in line with previous official forecasts.
Kuwait to study rate changes after moves abroad
Kuwait's central bank, under pressure to cut the discount rate to help the economy and a sagging stock market, said on Tuesday it would decide on changes after studying the impact of expected interest rate cuts abroad.
ECB's Quaden sees interesting debate on M3 goal
European Central Bank governing council member Guy Quaden said on Tuesday he could live with deviations from the bank's reference value for M3 money supply growth.
Canada's dollar - to fix or not -Friedman, Mundell
In an exclusive e-mail exchange arranged by Canada's Financial Post, Nobel Prize-winning economists Milton Friedman and Robert Mundell debate the future of the world currency system, from the euro to the Canadian dollar. This is the second installment in…
Study says EU membership might not boost growth
According to a Bank of Estonia study, Estonia's economic growth would not receive an automatic boost after Estonia joins the European Union.
Principles for financial plumbers
Payment systems, the "plumbing" underpinning international capital markets, aretoo often ignored. John Trundle from the Bank of England, who recently helpeddevise new standards for payment system safety, explains what changes areneeded in the latest…
Belgrade sees progress in dividing ex-Yugo gold
Yugoslavia said on Monday it hoped to quickly reach a deal with other members of the old six-member Balkan federation on dividing up gold assets held with the Bank of International Settlements.
Latvian central bank intervened in currency market
The Bank of Latvia has intervened in the currency market and sold $3.5m, Andrejs Viks, central bank currency operations foreign reserves portfolio head said.
Sri Lanka mkt surprised by rupee band adjustment
The Sri Lankan central bank's third one-off adjustment of the rupee trading band Monday - amid rocketing import costs - took the markets by surprise once again.
Pakistan cbank says govt must meet IMF terms
Pakistan's central bank warned the government on Monday that it must strictly implement tough conditions set under an International Monetary Fund loan programme to avert a balance of payment crisis.