Economics
SNB raises rates, sells gold
The Swiss National Bank has raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.5% on 14 July. The central also announced that it will sell 250 tonnes of gold and increase its foreign exchange reserves by a corresponding amount.
Fed's Beige Book
There was continuing weakness in residential real estate and construction but increasing strength in the commercial real estate sector, including both office and industrial space, reports the Fed's 4th Beige Book of the year.
Conservatives want one-term limit for BoE governor
Britain's opposition Conservative Party is considering a one-term limit for the governor of the Bank of England, a policy that would mark the biggest change in the framework for monetary policy since the bank was made independent in 1997.
Bond yields tighten on rate fears
The world's leading bond markets continued to tighten on 13 June, with benchmark yields reaching multi-year highs as the market responds to the threat of rising interest rates from central banks around the world.
IMF: Turkish CB independence essential for IT
The independence of Turkey's central bank is essential for the success of inflation targeting, the IMF said in its 2007 article 4 report.
Give Asia its due - Zeti
Malaysia's central bank governor, Zeti Akhtar Aziz, says Asia's increasing role in the global economy underlines the case for the continent being proportionately represented in the international financial community.
Constructing a sovereign balance sheet
In this article two IMF economists discuss a "new tool in surveillance, the public sector balance sheet, [which] can help diagnose vulnerabilities that are not immediately visible in the budget."
ECB's Papademos: globalisation and monetary policy
Globalisation has not made monetary policy less effective in containing inflation, Lucas Papademos, vice president of the European Central Bank argued, during a speech he made on 11 June.
BIS Quarterly Review, June 2007
Published on June 11, the Bank of International Settlements' Quarterly Review features articles on the bond market term premium, statistics on payments, recent episodes of credit card distress in Asia, and liquidity in the Brazilian government bond…
Dealing with globalisation - Iceland's Oddsson
Opening a conference in Iceland the governor of the central bank, David Oddsson, set out what he sees as the main challenges for small open economies with independent currencies in dealing with globalisation.
No policy shift for currency, says UAE governor
Investors expecting the dollar-pegged dirhan to appreciate received a strong message yesterday from the governor of the United Arab Emirates central bank, Sultan Nasser Al Suwedi, who said "We rule out any change for the forseeable future".
Reforming the IMF
The latest meeting of the IMF's executive board discussed key elements of the Fund's reform agenda: modernising its surveillance or economic oversight, bringing members' voting shares in line with their economic weight, developing a sustainable income…
Latvia: Annual Report
While Latvia enjoyed rapid economic growth in 2006 - the highest in EU - this was tempered by signs of macroeconomic imbalance, the governor noted in the central bank's annual report.
World Bank issues Russian inflation warning
The World Bank has warned that a massive influx of capital into Russia in the wake of major bank loans and share offerings by Russian companies could result in a loss of control over inflation.
Interview with Malta's Bonello
In a recent interview, the governor of Malta's central bank, Michael Bonello, sought to assuage fears that the changeover to the euro in 2008 would lead to price rises.
HKMA: Annual Report
A 9.5% return on the exchange fund and the establishment of payment system links in renminbi and ringitt were among the highlights of 2006, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's 216-page review of the year.
Federal Reserve: Annual Report
The Federal Reserve released its 93rd annual report on 6 June, in which it said "The US economy turned in another solid performance in 2006, although the pattern of growth was uneven."
Speech by Riksbank's berg
Speaking at a meeting at Handelsbanken in Stockholm, Sveriges Riksbank deputy governor Svante berg argued that "productivity will probably show a slower increase in the future. Combined with higher wage increases, this indicates higher inflationary…
Denmark's Annual Report
Denmark's central bank started work on a new note series in 2006, the annual report notes, with the series planned to start hitting the streets in 2009.
ECB: Inflation-linked bonds benefit central banks
In a recent occasional working paper the European Central Bank argues that "the issuance of inflation-linked bonds has explicit benefits for central banks."
Asian infrastructure needs - Ng speech
"The immense yet unmet need for infrastructure investments in Asia" combined with Asian governments' desire to develop their capital markets constitute an ideal environment for infrastructure capital markets to take off, according to Ng Nam Sin,…
Polish inflation within target range - governor
The governor of the National Bank of Poland, Slawomir Skrzypek, says inflation should remain within the central bank's target range of 1.5% to 3.5% until mid-2008.
Bank Indonesia more bullish
Bank Indonesia, the country's central bank, has upgraded its national economic growth forecast for this year from 6% to 6.2%. The latest inflation figures are also better than those forecast by the central bank.
Risks rising for emerging markets - RBI's Reddy
Y.V. Reddy, the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, has warned that new financial market players and instruments, as well as greater market integration, mean that the risk of contagion to emerging economies may have grown.