Central Banking
BoE's forecast confirms loosening stance
The Bank of England's February 2001 inflation report confirmed marketexpectations that UK interest rates were likely to head down over thecourse of 2001. Mervyn King, deputy governor for monetary stability, who presented thereport despite a bout of flu,…
Dollar mood jittery ahead of Greenspan remarks
The dollar's near-term fate hung in the balance on Feb 13, 2000 ahead of potentially market-movingcomments by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in Congress. Dealers generally expect Greenspan to adopt a cautiously optimistic tone on the U.S…
Japan admits economic going is getting tougher
Japan acknowledged on Feb 13, 2001 it is flirting with recession, but ministers and some economists expressed confidence the steps by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to calm the money markets would help to put a floor under the economy. Economics Minister Taro…
Vietnam - New regulations on banks' rep offices
Commercial banks can open rep offices and branches at home and abroad, as well as set up, disband and merge branches, provided they meet certain conditions, the central bank has ruled.Decision 90/2001/QD-NHNN regarding this signed last week by deputy…
Political Economy of the Japan's Financial Markets
In this book, the authors Dick Beason and Jason James attempt to cut through the myths that surround the Japanese markets, and extrapolate a clear, realistic picture of their twenty year transition. The book is divided into four. The authors lay out the…
'Modernizing Financial Systems' - D. Papadimitriou
The modernization of the financial system is a buzz phrase at the moment, especially in America. In this wide-ranging collection of essays, Professor Papadimitriou has gathered together many of the most informed and most readable commentators on this…
Israel cbank warns employee unrest disrupt policy
The Bank of Israel cautioned on Feb 13, 2001 that continued labour unrest at the central bank could disrupt monetary policy. The discount rate is maintained through regularly scheduled auctions in which the central bank sells or buys money. If these…
Vietnam seeks US$500m IMF loan
Vietnam is seeking an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund to help pay for a US$1.5 billion (S$2.6 billion) programme to restructure its debt-ridden banking sector. The country is negotiating a US$500 million loan package with the IMF,…
China rises to 8th in IMF vote rankings - cbank
China has risen in rankings to eighth from 11th in terms of capital provided to the International Monetary Fund, state media reported on Feb 13, 2001, citing a central bank spokesman. The elevation follows executive approval of an increase in China's…
Interview: Jordan's cbank governor Umayy Toukan
The new governor of the Central Bank of Jordan, Umayy Toukan, has given his first exclusive interview since taking up the post earlier in 2001. He was interview by Reuters journalist, Suleiman al-Khalidi, in Amman on Feb 13. In the interview the governor…
Greenspan-Fed may expand debt types in portfolio
The Federal Reserve continues to explore its options for implementing monetary policy as the stock of its preferred instrument, U.S. Treasury debt, declines, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Feb 13, 2001. Two of the options on the table include debt…
Polish leftist MP wants to change c.bank charter
A senior deputy from the ex-communist SLD social democrats, the party expected to win upcoming parliamentary elections, said the central bank's charter should be changed, a newspaper reported on Feb 13, 2001. Marek Borowski, SLD's deputy speaker of the…
Defiant Rafael Buenaventura says he will not quit
Philippine Central Bank Governor Rafael Buenaventura said he would not resign following accusations that he had alerted deposed president Joseph Estrada to withdraw the latter's secret account with deposits worth $2.9m (P143.76million) a day before the…
IMF team to review Ecuador's dollarization process
A team from the International Monetary Fund will arrive in Ecuador in the next few days to review the progress of the dollarization process implemented by the country in 2000. The three-member IMF team will stay in Ecuador for about 15 days, analyzing…
G7 to review global economy at Palermo fortress
When the world's leading financial barons meet in Sicily this weekend [Feb 16, 2001] to review their armoury for spurring the global economy, they will do so at a site chosen as a strategic look-out point dating back more than 2,000 years. Finance…
Venezuelan fin min-cbank won't fix interest rates
Venezuelan Finance Minister Jose Rojas reiterated Feb 13, 2001 that the central bank won't fix credit and deposit rates in the banking sector. "The central bank is not going to fix rates," Rojas said in a televised interview. In a nod toward the monetary…
Bank of Canada cuts growth forecast
Canada's central bank said officially for the first time on Feb 13, 2001 that the U.S. economic slowdown may cut Canada's growth rate to below 3 percent, but it remained positive about the country's economic prospects. "Primarily because of the spillover…
Greenspan said the U.S. was not in recession
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Feb 13, 2001 the U.S. economy was not in a recession but may face a rocky transition as it downshifts from super-charged growth rates of the past several years. When asked point-blank in a Senate Banking…
BIS urges vigilance on asset bubbles
It's time for central bankers to get tough on bubbles, according to a top official at the Bank for International Settlements. Overly high stock and property prices should prompt central bankers to take interest rate action in the same way rising wage…
Optimal Degrees of Transparency in Mon Pol-Jensen
"Optimal Degrees of Transparency in Monetary Policymaking" is a new discussion paper by Henrik Jensen published by the Centre for Economic and Policy Research in London. He discusses the advantages and disadvantages of transparency. A good paper for all…
Do Monetary Handcuffs Restrain Leviathan?-A. Rose
A new discussion paper called "Do Monetary Handcuffs Restrain Leviathan? Fiscal Policy in Extreme Exchange Rate Regimes" by Andrew K Rose , Antonio Fatas, has just been published by the Centre for Economic and Policy Research. It looks at case studies of…
Philippine cbank gov urged to quit over Estrada
The governor of the Philippine central bank is at the centre of a storm, for allegedly sleeping on the job while deposed President Joseph Estrada laundered millions of dollars through the local banking system.Several congressmen involved in ousting Mr…
IMF-WB-ADB in bailout package for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has been promised a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help shore up depleted foreign exchange reserves, Central Bank officials said. The officials, who declined to be named,…
RBA upbeat but says U.S. still main risk
Australia's central bank painted a cautious picture of the economy on Feb 12, 2001, saying domestic growth had slowed and much depended on the outlook for the United States. Less than a week after slashing official interest rates by half a percentage…