Asia-Pacific
New Zealand holds rates at 8.25%
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's rate-setting board voted on Thursday to keep the benchmark official cash rate at 8.25% in spite of high inflation.
European and US markets fall despite Fed cut
Stocks listed on European and US bourses continued to slide on Wednesday, following the Federal Reserve's emergency 75 basis point cut on Tuesday.
Fed slashes rates by 75 basis points
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on Tuesday lowered rates by 75 basis points to 3.5%, the biggest cut since autumn 1984.
Global stocks plummet on US recession fears
Shares in Asia and Europe plunged on Monday amid concern that a United States recession would hit global growth. The Toronto stock exchange was also down by more than 4% at midday trading.
Renminbi's behaviour influences whole region
Since the exchange rate reform in July 2005, fluctuations in the renminbi have impacted the movement of other Asian currencies, research published by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) finds.
Pacific Island SWFs hampered by mismanagement
Little integration with budgets, institutional weaknesses and inadequate controls have hindered the performance of sovereign wealth funds run by the authorities in Pacific Island countries, research published by the International Monetary Fund finds.
East Asian integration must be monitored: Fukui
East Asia's growing economic and financial integration must be closely monitored to avoid negative side effects, said Toshihiko Fukui, the governor of the Bank of Japan.
Emerging Asia impacts commodity price trend
Industrial activity in emerging Asia appears to have become, since 1997, a stronger driver of oil and commodity price movements than business cycle trends in developed economies.
Carry trade returns high but losses heavy
Though carry trades in various Asian currencies tend to outperform major stock markets, there is a relatively high frequency of large negative returns, research published by the Bank for International Settlements finds.
HKMA predicts impact of capital flow reversal
Improvements in external payment positions and financial strength have increased the resilience of Asian economies to a reversal of capital flows, research published by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority finds.
Asia-Pacific economies getting closer
The interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies has increased since the turn of the millennium, research published by the Bank of Japan finds.
G20 predicts "modest" global slowdown
Central bank governors and finance ministers from the G20 economies said that the credit turmoil would likely have a "modest" effect on global growth, but added that it remained difficult to judge the eventual impact.
Australia in good shape to weather subprime
Warwick McKibbin, a board member of the Reserve Bank of Australia, expects the country's economy to remain buoyant in spite of the recent market turmoil.
Inflation ahead, warns Greenspan
Central banks must hike rates in order to curb global inflation, Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, warned on Tuesday.
HK's Choi on Basel II's risk management challenges
Y.K. Choi, the deputy chief executive responsible for banking at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, spelt out the risk management challenges facing the Asian finance industry in preparing for Basel II.
Wellink calls for speedy ABN break-up
Nout Wellink, the governor of the Netherlands Bank, has urged the three banks who have taken over ABN AMRO to quickly implement their plans to break it up.
Crisis shows why we need Basel II, says Committee
The recent banking crisis has underlined the importance of Basel II implementation, according to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.
Research finds East Asian ratings discrepancy
A significant discrepancy exists between agency ratings and market-based default risk measures for East Asian banks, according to a paper published by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority on Tuesday.
Market optimism fades after Fed action
After the rally in US equity market of Friday continued in Asian and European markets after the weekend, Wall Street indexes were firmly back in the red by mid-day on Monday.
Intervention fails to stem equities sell-off
The wide-scale intervention by central banks around the world on Thursday and Friday reduced spreads in domestic money markets, but failed to stop the declines in global stock markets.
Geithner: challenges of global integration
Timothy F. Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said that there is growing concern in the US about long-term challenges facing the country, such as the perceived shift in the locus of economic growth away from the US toward Asia.
IMF's Rato on capital flows
In a speech given on 28 July Rodrigo de Rato, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said that imposing direct limits or controls on capital inflows sets central banks and private financial institutions against each other.
MAS chief on financial risk and innovation
Ten years on from the Asian financial crisis, Heng Swee Keat, managing director, of Monetary Authority of Singapore, opened the first annual Risk Management Institute Research Conference.
Singapore's Tong: Asia's economic prospects
Goh Chok Tong, chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said, "At the political level, Asia is also coalescing. However, political coalescence is progressing more slowly than economic integration," he said in a keynote address on 4 July.