Europe
Gonzalez-Paramo says ex rate volatility excessive
Jose Gonzalez-Paramo, a member of the European Central Bank's governing council, said the ECB sees the volatility of the euro/dollar exchange rate as "excessive" after the euro broke the psychologically important 1.3 dollar threshold.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, November 2004
The European Central Bank published its November 2004 Monthly Bulletin on Thursday 11 November, saying in its regular quarterly 'Survey of Professional Forecasters', that the experts had revised downward their growth forecast for 2005 to 2% from 2.1%…
Trichet on the ECB's use of statistics
In a speech on 'The ECB's use of statistics and other information for monetary policy' given on 11 November, Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said the ECB has to avoid overreacting to short-term movements in economic data.
ECB's Papademos on the economic outlook
In a speech on 'The economic outlook and the ECB's monetary policy: some key issues' given on 11 November, Lucas Papademos of the ECB said higher oil prices are having a noticeable affect on inflation in the euro zone countries and growth will be hurt if…
Italy suggests joint action to stabilise euro
Domenico Siniscalco, Italy's economy minister, was quoted by several news agencies on Wednesday 10 November as saying of the euro that "a co-ordinated intervention is being talked about again, not a unilateral intervention. That would not help."
ECB's Issing concerned on eurozone inflation
European Central Bank (ECB) chief economist Otmar Issing said in an interview that eurozone inflation is higher than the bank would like it to be, and it is watching inflation developments with concern.
EU backs ECB warning on euro
The European Union's head office on Tuesday 9 November appeared to agree with comments by the European Central Bank president, warning that "excessive volatility" of the euro's exchange rate against the US dollar could damage economic growth in Europe.
Trichet says euro's record rise 'not welcome'
Economic growth "remains very steady," European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said at a briefing after a meeting in Basel, Switzerland, of the G-10 group, which he chairs. "Perhaps we're going to a level that's more sustainable in the medium…
Tumpel-Gugerell on the euro's success & challenges
In a speech 'Six years after the euro: Success and challenges' given on 5 November, Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell of the ECB said excessive volatility in the foreign-exchange market is "not beneficial" and can be "painful" for exporters.
Padoa-Schioppa on European financial institutions
In a speech 'How to deal with emerging pan-European financial institutions?' given on 3 November, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa of the ECB said the regulatory and supervisory framework that is now in place can meet the challenges. The condition, however, is…
ECB paper on transmission of monetary policy
This ECB Working Paper examines possible explanations for observed differences in the transmission of euro area monetary policy in central bank large-scale macroeconomic models. It finds that, against most yardsticks, the cross-country variations in the…
ECB press conference with questions and answers
At the ECB's post-meeting press conference on Thursday 4 November, after eurozone interest rates were held unchanged, Jean-Claude Trichet gave a tougher warning about the immediate inflationary dangers ahead, calling a recent jump in consumer prices a …
Trichet's concluding remarks to ECB conference
In concluding remarks to the Third ECB Central Bank conference on 22 October Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said that a stable macroeconomic environment and progress in structural and fiscal reforms are essential to take full advantage of the benefits of…
Issing on EU enlargement and monetary integration
In a speech on 'EU enlargement and monetary integration' given on 22 October, Otmar Issing of the ECB said that the 10 countries that joined European Union in May should not rush to join the euro or the European Exchange Rate Mechanism II until they were…
Issues paper for ECB conference on 10 Nov
In preparation for an internal conference on e-payments, the ECB has produced an issues paper entitled "E-payments without frontiers". The paper covers observations on innovation in retail payments, challenges to be faced before a mature and integrated…
Trichet: EU Enlargement challenges & opportunities
In a speech on 'EU Enlargement: challenges and opportunities' given on 27 October, Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said the eurozone economy was likely to continue growing at its current pace, but noted that high oil prices could dampen the speed of the…
ECB's Garganas: little effect on exports from euro
European Central Bank council member Nicholas Garganas said in an interview the euro's appreciation against the dollar this month probably won't hurt European exports and will help offset the effects of surging oil prices on the economy.
The ECB - History, role and functions
The European Central Bank published a book on its history, role and functions on Monday. The publication looks at the ECB from legal, institutional and organisational standpoints.
Trichet's statement to EP on ECB's Annual Report
In a statement to the European Parliament on the ECB's Annual Report 2003 on Monday 25 October, Jean-Claude Trichet said the eurozone economy was likely to continue growing at its current pace, but noted that high oil prices could dampen the speed of the…
Prodi labels EU bid to catch US economy a failure
Europe's efforts to catch up to and then outpace the US economy have been "a big failure," the outgoing head of the European Union executive commission, Romano Prodi, told the Financial Times in an interview.
Papademos at Third ECB Central Banking Conference
In his opening address at the Third ECB Central Banking Conference 'The new EU Member States: convergence and stability' on 21 October, Lucas Papademos said there is a risk that reform fatigue will set in after EU accession, because the incentive for…
Interview with ECB's Gonzalez-Paramo
In an interview published this week, ECB Executive Board member Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo speaks out firmly against changing the wording of the Stability and Growth Pact, saying: "The Pact is a cornerstone of the currency union. Nobody had questioned…
MEPs set to discuss ECB performance with Trichet
MEPs are to debate the performance of the European Central Bank with Jean-Claude Trichet on 25 October when they consider a draft report from Alain Lipietz (Greens/EFA, FR) for the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee.
Third ECB Central Banking Conference
The Third ECB Central Banking Conference on "The new EU Member States: convergence and stability" will begin on Thursday 21 October in Frankfurt am Main. Discussions include "The economic and structural transformation of the new EU Member States" and …