Central Banking
Rules tightened by Philippine central bank
MANILA - The Philippine central bank said on 11 May that it has expanded the duties and responsibilities of the board of directors of banks to strengthen the banking system.
Yugoslavia re-admitted to World Bank after 8 years
YUGOSLAVIA - Yugoslavia rejoined the World Bank on 8 May, eight years after being expelled for its involvement in Balkan wars, noting that the move paves the way for future loans to help the impoverished country's economic recovery.
Bank of England lowers base rate
UK - The Bank of England announced at 12pm on May 10 that the UK's main interest rate measure, the repo rate, would be reduced by 0.25% to 5.25%.
ECB cuts interest rates by 0.5%
Summary - The European Central Bank (ECB) has made a surprise cut in its key interest rate reducing it by a quarter point to 4.5%.
Bank of England revamps its web site
UK - The Bank of England has transformed its online presence with a complete makeover to its external website and details on the Centre for Central Banking Studies handbooks.
Inflation still main concern of ECB
GERMANY - European Central Bank council member Vitor Constancio said on 10 May that inflation still remained the bank's main concern.
Financial Stability and Central Banks
BOOK - This book is published by the Bank of England and includes papers presented at the banks 7th annual Central Bank governors' symposium in June 2000. The 2000 symposium considered financial stability and the role of central banks.
Banks refusing funds from BOJ
JAPAN - Japanese monetary policy encountered a significant hitch yesterday, 9 May, after it failed to persuade banks to accept any more funds. The money was virtually free as interest rates in Japan are close to zero.
Central banks not to blame for weak gold price
According to a study into the gold derivatives market by Professor Anthony Neuberger of the London Business School, the five-fold increase in gold lending since 1990 cannot account for the slump in the gold price over the period.
Fischer to leave the Fund
Stanley Fischer, the IMF's deputy managing director, announced yesterday that he would leave the fund before the end of the year.
Sir Eddie George at the University of Zurich
SPEECH - The Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Eddie George, gave a speech at the Swiss Institute of International Studies, University of Zurich on May 7.
Klein to hold talks with Israel's prime minister
ISRAEL - David Klein, governor of the Central Bank of Israel is to meet with Ariel Sharon, the prime minister of Israel, in the next few days in an attempt to resolve the dispute which led Mr Klein to shelve a cut in interest rates at the end of April.
Chief denies Bank of Japan Governor will resign
JAPAN - Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, categorically ruled out the possibility that Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami will resign soon. He was speaking on 9 May.
MAS to welcome more foreign banks
Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the new managaing director of Singarpore's monetary authority, has indicated that the authority plans to issue more banking licenses to foreign banks.
Korea cbank expects inflation to fall
The Bank of Korea's latest inflation report enviages inflation falling to 3% in the second half of 2001
Central bank governor says China is stabilising
CHINA - Dai Xianglong, the governor of the central bank of China, said on 9 May that his country had made the world economy more stable.
OECD Economic Outlook
RESEARCH - The OECD's Chief Economist, Ignazio Visco, presented the analysis and projections contained in the Economic Outlook No. 69 at a news conference at OECD headquarters in Paris on 3 May. The publication is available in English, French and German…
Bank Indonesia - Annual Report 2000
REPORT - Bank Indonesia reports that economic recovery has improved and that economic growth in the year exceeded expectation.
UK poised for rate reduction
UK - The Bank of England faces pressure to cut interest rates tomorrow, May 9, as it begins its monthly two day meeting.
European Central Bank - Annual Report 2000
REPORT - The European Central Bank released its 2000 Annual Report on May 2. A press release can be read here and there is a link to the full report.
US households more buoyant than generally believed
ARTICLE - The financial position of US households ranks high on the list of concerns about the economic and financial outlook. The fear is that a negative personal saving rate and record debt-to-income levels point to a potential sharp retrenchment in…
Good news reported by latest Fed Beige Book
RESEARCH - More evidence that the US economy has turned a corner after a steep six-month slide is reported in the latest Beige Book summary of regional economic conditions.
A Simple Model for Inflation in Brazil
RESEARCH - Working Paper No. 18 from the Bank of Brazil develops a model to investigate the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. The paper also describes the results of stochastic simulations designed to investigate the behaviour of various optimal…
Price level convergence and inflation in Europe
A paper by John H. Rogers at the Federal Reserve "Price level convergence, relative prices, and inflation in Europe" finds evidence to support the concept of price level convergence and investigates the extent to which divergence of national inflation…