Central Banks
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.
Banks to support Turkey, won't cut exposure - IMF
Banks engaged in Turkey will not reduce their financial exposure to the country, a senior International Monetary Fund official said on Monday.
Economic indicators are positive - Pakistan cbank
Vital economic indicators have shown positive development during the first quarter (July-September) of the 2000-2001 fiscal year, Pakistan's central bank said Monday.
Litas to be pegged amid preparations for EU
Lithuania, while preparing for its membership in the European Union, plans to keep litas pegged to dollar and later to euro, the board of the Bank of Lithuania announced after discussing its participation in the processes of Lithuania's preparation for…
China to put gold mkt In Shanghai, timing unclear
Central bank officials Monday said China's first communist-era gold market will be set up in Shanghai, but they declined to say when.
Friedman v. Mundell on exchange rates
Canada's Financial Post asked the two Nobel laureates Milton Friedman and Robert Mundell to participate in an exclusive e-mail debate about each other's views on modern day economics. Below we reprint the debate which was publish in the Financial Post on…
Iran central bank allocates $1bn to private sector
Central Bank of Iran announced that it has allocated $1bn to the private sector. The money was drawn from the foreign exchange reserve fund which was set up to deposit surplus oil revenues.
Euro too weak for Britain - BoE's governor
Governor of the Bank of England Sir Edward George said Sunday that Britain cannot afford to contemplate joining the euro until it strengthens.
RBZ To announce new monetary policy measures
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, Leonard Tsumba, is expected to announce new monetary policy measures for the year 2001 by the end of this month, a central bank spokesman said this week.
Nice EU Treaty needed for European Central Bank
As European Union leaders gather in Nice to reform the bloc's decision making processes in preparation for enlargement, one crucial item is absent from the agenda: the European Central Bank. A new paper by the Centre for Economic Policy Research says…