Euro
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%.
Supereconomies face clashes
EUROPE - Central bank politics is assuming an intriguing role in attempted reversal of the slowdown of the US economy and spreading effects on other parts of the world.
Commission paper highlights euro challenges
A new publication by the European Commission surveys the first two years of the euro's existence and highlights some of the challenges ahead.
Parliament worries over euro note chaos
Fears are growing that the introduction of euro notes and coins on 1 January 2001 will create logistical nightmares for eurozone authorities.
Monitoring the European Central Bank 3
BOOK - The Centre for Economic and Policy Research has published the third in its series of books monitoring the European Central Bank titled "Defining a Macroeconomic Framework for the Euro Area". It is co-authored by Alberto Alesina, Olivier Blanchard,…
BOI pleads banks to hold back from euro rush
ITALY - The Bank of Italy, fearing overcrowding at banking counters in the first days of the change over from the lira to the euro in January 2002, has urged Italian banks to persuade their clients there is no hurry.
Euro-area banking at the crossroads-IMF paper
RESEARCH - This IMF working paper by the European I department looks at the institutional arrangements for euro-area banking supervision. The authors endorse stronger cross-border coordination among supervisory authorities but notes that more formal…
Limited boost to euro from Lithuania litas repeg
LITHUANIA - The euro will only get psychological boost from Lithuania's move towards pegging its litas to the euro as the accompanying shift in foreign exchange reserves is not seen generating much demand for euros.
SNB's Bruno Gehrig speech on the euro
SPEECH - Bruno Gehrig, vice-chairman of the Swiss National Bank, gave a speech on Mar 27, 2001 in front of the Swiss Chamber of Industry and Commerce of the Southern Upper-Rhine Region about the euro two years on and its impact on the Swiss economy and…
Euro drop in 2000 was normal dip - Fed's Poole
EUROPE - The euro's weakness against the dollar last year was a "perfectly normal" dip of a sort which all currencies suffer from time to time, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President William Poole said on Mar 27, 2001.
ECB agrees 10% increase of euro notes production
The European Central Bank on Mar 15, 2001 said it approved a 10 percent increase in the production of euro banknotes to create an additional reserve and help smooth the changeover to euro cash.
Euro & Talous - Bank of Finland quarterly
RESEARCH PAPER - It would be wrong to think that the positive developments in central government finances in Finland in 2000 have opened the way for a permanent increase in government spending, since the growth of tax revenue is likely to slow…
Efficient payments in the euro area-Wellink speech
Opening address by Dr A.H.E.M. Wellink, President of De Nederlandsche Bank NV, on the occasion of the "5th conference on pan-European cash & treasury management", held in Amsterdam on Mar 6 2001.
Joint euro steering group to tackle counterfeiters
The European Central Bank, European Commission and Europol on Mar 7, 2001 said they had jointly developed an action plan to combat would-be euro cash counterfeiters.
Bank of France denies euro printing problems
The Bank of France on Mar 5, 2001 denied a senior politician's claim that France might not print its full quota of euro banknotes by the time the single currency goes into circulation on January 1, 2002.
Duisenberg says euro zone not hit by U.S. slowdown
European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg said on Mar 5, 2001 there were no firm signs that the U.S. economic slowdown was spilling over to the euro zone and that there was little likelihood of a near term change in interest rates.
Fabius cool to idea of ECB counterweight - paper
French Finance Minister Laurent Fabius has distanced himself from suggestions there should be an "economic government" for the euro zone to form a counterweight to the European Central Bank, according to a newspaper interview published on Mar 2, 2001.
Case for Eurozone monetary indicators? - Svensson
In a Bank for International Settlements working paper "Money and inflation in the Euro Area: A case for monetary indicators?" Stefan Gerlach and Lars E O Svensson find that the "real money gap" (the gap between current real balances and long-run…
ECB says output of euro banknotes is on schedule
The European Central Bank insisted that production of euro banknotes is on schedule, rejecting a newspaper report that said printing problems could leave European nations short for the introduction of the notes on Jan. 1, 2002.
UK: Trichet says confidence key to euro
Bank of France Governor Jean-Claude Trichet said on Feb 21, 2001 confidence was key when policymakers spoke of a strong euro.
British public see EMU membership as inevitable
According to a new poll reported by GrahamBishop.com, the British public sees EMU membership as inevitable by 2010 and the government is expected to take the lead on pushing for the benefits of EMU participation. The report also contends there has been a…
'Monetary Union, Employment and Growth' -P. Padoan
"Monetary Union, Employment and Growth: The Impact of the Euro as a Global Currency", Edited by Pier Carlo Padoan, Professor of Economics, University of Rome 'La Sapienza', Italy and Director of Economic Studies, College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium. Below…
ECB's Trichet - European growth to continue strong
European Central Bank council member and Bank of France governor Jean-Claude Trichet said on Feb. 7, 2000 growth in Europe will continue "at a reasonable, strong pace." There were, however, downside risks to real gross domestic product growth, he told a…
Belgium finalises euro note, coin switchover plans
Belgium announced on Feb 6, 2001, its final plans for the switch to euro notes and coins in 2002, a mammoth logistical task which is set to mobilise all 12 euro zone countries in the second half of this year. Belgium's "Euro Commission" said banks and…