Opinion

G7 on money laundering & terrorist finance

We are committed to fight against those who seek to abuse the international financial system for criminal or terrorist purposes, a statement released on Saturday 3 December following the G7 meeting in London said.

Comment: How will Shamshad Akhtar manage Pakistan?

Labouring under the onerous task to reconstruction following the terrible October 8 earthquake, which killed more than 40,000 people, and has left 3 million homeless, at least Pakistan has recently made notable economic progress.

Yuan is still pegged to the dollar

According to this article published Tuesday 29 November, there's a good chance that 2005 will be remembered in the financial markets as the year in which China blinked and made the yuan more flexible. This misconception should be snuffed out fast, it…

Comment: IMF criticises ECB's move

The decision by the ECB to increase interest rates by 25 basis points has come in for a fair amount of criticism in the press and from market analysts. On Thursday 1 December the eurozone's central bank received another stinging blow.

Yuan reform takes time

According to this article published on Monday 28 November, it's likely that China will permit further appreciation of its currency. What's certain, it says, is that Beijing won't allow itself to be seen as bowing to pressure.

Comment: None the wiser

The ECB has raised interest rates as expected, but its explanations for the much-criticised decision reveal little on its motivations or the future path of rates.

Hedge funds bet Asia will boost gold reserves

According to this article published on Tuesday 29 November, hedge funds, after sending the gold price to an 18-year high, are looking to China and other Asian central banks as the next big drivers of the precious metal.

Mexico's Ortiz targets inflation, spurs growth

While the Federal Reserve has been busy raising interest rates, the Bank of Mexico has headed in the other direction, cutting its key rate on 24 Nov for the fourth consecutive month, this article published Wednesday notes.

Banks' attitude 'key to gold's fortunes'

According to this article published on Friday 25 November, fresh impetus in the gold price and continued uncertainty about the outlook for the dollar could change central banks' attitude towards the gold reserves they have been inclined to sell off over…

Change in Fed statement is coming (either way)

According to this article published on Monday 28 November, the part of the Fed's statement on the balance of risks to the Committee's objectives has degenerated, as have all the Fed's formulaic means of conveying an inter-meeting bias or long-term…

Comment: Euro adoption order changes

Slovakia's decision on Friday 25 November to join the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II) with immediate effect took markets by surprise. Policymakers had been saying they were aiming at mid-2006 for joining the ERM II, which serves as a crucial…

Brown's gold sale losses pile up as price surges

According to this article published on Monday 28 November, the recent increase in the price of gold should be something of an embarrassment for UK Chancellor Gordon Brown with the Bank of England offloading 300 tonnes of gold at close to a 20-year low…

Comment: Fierce criticism of the ECB

The European Central Bank's recent indication of its intent to raise interest rates has prompted a wave of fierce press criticism, and not only from within the eurozone.

Bernanke for Asia? Mundell seems to think so

According to this article published on Thursday 24 Novemver, even before Ben Bernanke is confirmed as the next chairman of the Fed, a Nobel-winning economist has come up with a plan that seeks to make Alan Greenspan's successor the monetary boss of Asia…

Comment: Central banks "shouldn't supervise"

In a speech on Thursday, Howard Davies, who served for two years as deputy governor of the Bank of England and as special adviser to the chancellor of the exchequer, and who is currently director of the London School of Economics, argued that a…

Comment: Bank Indonesia wins praise

The oil price increase has caused headaches for monetary policy-makers around the world but has posed particular challenges for developing economies such as Indonesia, which operates an extensive system of oil subsidies.

Comment: ECB's strategy risks confusion

Jean-Claude Trichet's recent comments have effectively shifted the debate from whether or not the ECB will raise interest rates, to how aggressive and how persistent future rate hikes will be. The ECB's strategy raises a number of questions.

Bank of Japan

According to this recent article, the government and Liberal Democratic Party officials should not be blatantly meddling in the Bank of Japan's policy. Although the BOJ needs to stay in closer connection with the fiscal authorities, it says.

Comment: Russia's reserve management

At a time when Russia's official foreign reserves have risen sharply due largely to increased revenues from oil exports, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has been remarkably transparent how it manages these reserves.

Comment: ECB signals its move

ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet on Friday 18 November dropped his strongest hint yet that interest rates will be increased at the governing council meeting on December 1.

Comment: Banking in the Caspian and Central Asia

The former USSR countries in the Caspian and Central Asia have been independent for nearly 15 years, but economic setbacks in the 1990s have meant that significant growth and development are fairly recent phenomena. We take a look at central banking and…

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