France
Strauss-Kahn takes over at IMF
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, France's former finance minister, began his five-year term at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday. He acknowledged that he is taking over at a time when the Fund desperately needs reform and to reach out to emerging…
Dollar at all-time low against euro after Fed cut
The greenback reached a record low against the euro following the Federal Open Market Committee's decision to cut rates by 25 basis points. At its peak, the euro was worth 1.4504 against the dollar on Thursday.
External rigidity is behind lumpy price adjustment
External rigidity, not infrequent price changes, is the reason for large adjustment costs, research published by the Banque de France finds.
EMU leads to bond-market convergence
Economic and monetary union in Europe has led to substantial convergence in euro-area sovereign bond markets, according to research published by the San Francisco Federal Reserve.
De Rato U-turns on dollar valuation
Rodrigo de Rato, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said on Monday that the dollar was overvalued despite recently saying that he believed the opposite to be the case.
Target2: ready to go
Five years in the making, Europe's new large-value payments system, known as Target2, is ready to go live on 19 November.
Spain's Solbes supports Trichet on Sarkozy debate
Pedro Solbes, the Spanish finance minister, indicated that he would side with Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), over his recent exchange with Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president.
Trichet responds to Sarkozy criticism
Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, has again hit back at French president Nicolas Sarkozy's attempts to criticise and influence monetary policy.
Germany is the ECB's biggest fan
Out of the five major Eurozone economies, it is Germany, the largest, that is most confident that the European Central Bank (ECB) fulfils its primary roles of managing inflation and encouraging growth.
Liquidity and the lender of last resort
A Banque de France research paper has found that a relatively small liquidity shock can disrupt markets, which means the probability of default for leveraged investors is higher than standard risk measures suggest.
Central banks are "just doing their job": Noyer
Christian Noyer, the governor of the Bank of France and a member of the governing council of the European Central Bank (ECB), made a strong defence of recent actions by central banks.
Sarkozy and Merkel call for more transparency
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said on Monday that hedge funds and rating agencies must face greater scrutiny.
Strauss-Kahn and Tosovsky vie for top IMF job
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former French finance minister, and Josef Tosovsky, the head of the Financial Stability Institute, are the only two candidates for the top job at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Russia wants Czech governor Tosovsky to head IMF
Russia has nominated Josef Tosovsky, the former head of the Czech National Bank and the current chair of the Bank for International Settlements' Financial Stability Institute, to take over from Rodrigo Rato at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Useful statement from Jean-Claude Trichet
CentralbankNews.com is pleased to see the ECB making constructive use of its website in the current crisis. On Tuesday August 14 its home page featured prominently a statement by Jean-Claude Trichet, the president, about the current financial market…
Banque de France - annual report 2006
Christian Noyer, the governor of the Banque de France, today presented the central bank's annual report to the country's president.
Choose Fund head on merit - Colombia's Uribe
Jose Dario Uribe, the governor of the central bank of Colombia, says it is still too early to select a candidate to head the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to succeed Rodrigo de Rato, who will leave the Fund in October.
Sarkozy tones down ECB rhetoric
French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, appears to have relented to pressure from other European leaders over his repeated criticism of the European Central Bank (ECB). The newly-elected leader said on 16 July that he supported the central bank's independence.
French honour for Maltese central bank governor
Governor of the Central Bank of Malta, Michael Bonello, has been awarded the Officier de la Legion d'Honneur by the French government.
Noyer on French banks' vulnerabilities
Christian Noyer, governor of the Banque de France, said there is an "ever more urgent need for new methods of risk assessment and for appropriate supervision that can react swiftly to these changes," at a speech given on 29 June during the presentation…
Eurozone business confidence dips
Analysts are suggesting that business confidence in the euro area may have peaked. The May figure for the widely-watched Ifo index was unchanged from a month earlier for Germany, but somewhat lower for France and Italy.
Germany defends ECB focus on money growth
Germany's Bundesbank has come out in stout defence of the European Central Bank, arguing that money supply figures - used by the ECB in making interest rate decisions - are helpful in identifying property market distortions.
Trichet supports hedge fund code of conduct
There is growing support around the world for a proposed voluntary code of conduct for hedge funds, European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said recently.
Noyer says Europe may experience sustained growth
European Central Bank governing council member Christian Noyer said on Wednesday 16 May that Europe could be experiencing a period of sustained, stable growth.