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2 months ago | 
nginx.production.bb8-risk.uk3.amazee.io | Dan Hardie
Tweet Facebook LinkedIn Save this article Send to Print this page Malaysia’s opposition party has called for the country’s central bank to take legal action against senior figures, including the prime minister, implicated in the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal. A letter from the head of legal affairs at Bank Negara Malaysia states the central bank will work with international enforcement and regulatory agencies over the affair.
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Sep 24, 2024 | 
labourlist.org | Dan Hardie
Defence Secretary John Healey has left the Labour Conference early in order to chair an emergency meeting on the growing crisis in the Middle East, according to Sky News. The move comes after Israeli Defence Force warplanes bombed multiple targets in Lebanon amid growing fighting with the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
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Sep 23, 2024 | 
labourlist.org | Dan Hardie
Many Labour voters who stuck with the party in the 2019 and 2024 General Elections might switch their support in future elections, a new report finds. Nearly half (48%) of these ‘Loyalists’ who voted Labour in both elections would consider voting for other parties, research carried out by the firm Savanta found.
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Sep 2, 2024 | 
centralbanking.com | Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Dan Hardie |Jimmy Choi
Brazil: President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on August 28 nominated Gabriel Galípolo, a political ally, to be the next governor of the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB). Since 2023, Galípolo has been the bank’s deputy governor and director of monetary policy, a role for which Lula nominated him in May 2023. He was previously deputy finance minister. If his appointment is confirmed by the Senate, Galípolo will take over from Roberto Campos Neto on January 1, 2025. He will serve a four-year term. In a
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Sep 2, 2024 | 
centralbanking.com | Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Dan Hardie |Jimmy Choi
Annual inflation dropped to 0.5% in Sri Lanka last month, down from 2.4% in July, according to figures published by the central bank on August 30. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said the fall was in line with its previous projections that inflation would continue to decline until early next year. Last month’s figure is the lowest level recorded in recent years. Food inflation slowed from 1.5% in July to 0.8% in August, while core inflation fell from 4.4% to 3.6%. The CBSL said inflation would
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Sep 2, 2024 | 
centralbanking.com | Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Dan Hardie |Jimmy Choi
Digital payment technologies are crucial to fostering growth, according to the chief representative of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) office for the Americas. Speaking at the National Autonomous University of Mexico on August 28, Alexandre Tombini said the use of technologies such as fast payment systems (FPS) and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) had been on the rise in the Americas. The former president of Brazil’s central bank said that in some countries in the region, the
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Sep 2, 2024 | 
centralbanking.com | Levente Koroes |Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Dan Hardie
The Bank of Russia said on August 30 that it was expanding its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot programme. The bank said the new phase, which started on September 1, would involve “up to 9,000 people and 1,200 companies” – a marked increase on the 600 people and 22 firms that took part in the previous stage. It said the latest phase would enable dynamic QR code payments and business-to-business transfers. It added that testers had already been able to deposit money into CBDC accounts
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Sep 2, 2024 | 
centralbanking.com | Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Dan Hardie |Jimmy Choi
The central bank of Laos has raised its policy rate for the sixth time in two years, as the country suffers from high inflation and a weakening currency. The Bank of the Lao PDR raised its interest rate for short-term loans from 10% to 10.5% on August 27, according to its website. Consumer price inflation was 24.3% year on year in August, slowing from 26.1% in July and a peak of 41.3% in February 2023, according to the official bureau of statistics. The World Bank has said it expects inflation in
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Sep 2, 2024 | 
centralbanking.com | Jimmy Choi |Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Dan Hardie
Bank Indonesia, the Bank of Korea and South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance have launched a framework to support the wider use of local currencies for cross-border transactions from September 30. The authorities announced the framework in a joint statement on August 30. Under the new framework, the two central banks have selected 21 Indonesian and South Korean banks as appointed cross-currency dealers. The selected banks will facilitate current account transactions between the two
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Aug 30, 2024 | 
centralbanking.com | Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Dan Hardie |Jimmy Choi
Bank branch closures, driven by mergers and acquisitions, lead to decreased employment levels at small businesses, according to a study from the US Federal Reserve Board. The paper – by Ben Ranish, Andrea Stella and Jeffery Zhang, which was published on July 29 – cites data from the US Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve System’s National Information Center database. It says the number of bank branches in the US has fallen by around 20% since 2010. The authors say firms with fewer than 20
