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Banking / Investment in Oceania

  • RBA's Lowe Says Subdued Wages To Keep Monetary Policy Very Accommodative

    AUSTRALIA, 2016/03/08 Subdued wage increase is likely to keep inflation low and monetary policy very accommodative, Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Philip Lowe said Tuesday. "It is possible that wage outcomes will remain very subdued even in nations with strong labor markets," Lowe said in a speech Adelaide. If this turns out to be the case, again it is likely that inflation rates will as well continue to be very low and monetary policy very accommodative, he added.

  • RBA Says Low Rates Underpin Consumption

    AUSTRALIA, 2016/02/16 The Reserve Bank of Australia said the record low interest rate is supporting household spending increase and housing investment , and the weaker currency boosts request for domestic production. The increase in employment as well supported household consumption increase, RBA said Tuesday in the minutes of February monetary policy conference.

  • Finance Minister of the Year 2016

    NEPAL, 2016/01/10 Finance Minister of the Year 2016 awards celebrate the officials that have best managed to stimulate increase and stabilise their economy. Global and Asia-Pacific Ram Sharan Mahat, former finance minister, Nepal Ram Sharan Mahat receives The Banker’s World and Asia-Pacific Finance Minister of the Year awards for his exemplary work in the aftermath of the two disastrous earthquakes that hit Nepal in 2015 and in pushing for reforms to improve governance in the country’s ministry of finance.

  • Banking Moves into the 21st Century

    WORLD, 2015/12/16 Global developments in finance and geopolitics are prompting a rethinking of the structure of banking and of the nature of money itself. Part other interesting news items: In Iceland, the booms and busts culminating in the banking crisis of 2008-09 have prompted lawmakers to consider a plan to remove the power to create money from private banks. In Ecuador, the central bank is responding to a shortage of US dollars (the official Ecuadorian currency) by issuing digital dollars through accounts to which everyone has access, entirely making it a bank of the people. In a November 2015 article titled “Russia Debates Unorthodox Orthodox Financial Alternative,” William Engdahl writes:

  • Preparing for the hike and more global QE

    WORLD, 2015/08/06 The September Fed hike is on and only seven weeks away – the market is NOT ready for the initial rate hike in close to a decade. There are the five major themes that stand out to me: 1. The Fed WILL hike 2. The quantitative-easing dam will break into the rest of the world with new participants being swept up 3. Commodities will accelerate into a multi-year bear market 4. Emerging markets are getting crushed from all sides 5. Volatility!

  • A Nigerian woman has been appointed Vice President at the World Bank

    NIGERIA, 2015/07/28 The Bank announced the appointment of Arunma Oteh as Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank in a press statement issued Thursday July 203, 2015. Ms. Oteh had served as the Director-General of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission, she resigned from the position in January 2015. According to the Bank, as Vice President and Treasurer, Arunma will manage and lead a large and diverse team responsible for managing additional than $150 billion in assets.

  • Australia's central bank has been under pressure to cut its lending rates

    AUSTRALIA, 2015/05/05 The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to an all-time low of 2%. Rising property prices in Australia's biggest city, Sydney, a strong currency and a drop in iron ore prices are part the reasons for the cut. The cut is the second this year, following a previous 25 basis point cut in February. The RBA's move follows similar action from central banks in China, Canada, Singapore, Korea and India.

  • Why is Indonesia terminating its bilateral investment treaties?

    INDONESIA, 2014/09/21 The price of investor-national dispute settlement (ISDS) procedures has been questioned by Australia and, additional recently, Indonesia. The Australian government’s controversial 2011 Trade Policy Statement — stating that Australia would not acknowledge to ISDS in its treaties — caused significant debate. In part, Australia’s policy was motivated by Philip Morris’ legal action against the government over legislation requiring the plain packaging of cigarettes. Since again, a change of government in 2013 has meant that Australia has retreated considerably from its previous strict position. The current Abbott government has indicated it will consider the inclusion of ISDS on a case-by-case basis. While the government agreed to the inclusion of ISDS in the recent agreement with Korea, no such regime was included in the agreement with Japan. Recently, Indonesia has indicated discontent with the current national of its investment agreements. Some in Indonesia have expressed an aversion to ISDS in particular. Before this year, the Netherlands embassy in Jakarta announced that the Indonesian government had informed the Netherlands that it intended to terminate the Netherlands–Indonesia Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) from 1 July 2015, which is at the same time as the BIT expires. The Netherlands embassy as well stated that the Indonesian government had mentioned it intended to terminate all of its 67 BITs.

  • Australia's central bank maintained its major cash rate at a record low

    AUSTRALIA, 2014/03/05 Australia's central bank on Tuesday maintained its major cash rate at a record low for a seventh successive month, and indicated a period of stability in monetary policy, as inflation pressures remained high. The Reserve Bank of Australia, or RBA, kept the policy interest rate unchanged at 2.5 % following its rate-setting conference. The decision was in line with economists' expectations. In a post-decision statement, Governor Glenn Stevens said that the monetary policy is appropriately configured to foster sustainable increase in request and inflation outcomes consistent with the target.

  • Reserve Bank of Australia cash rate unchanged

    AUSTRALIA, 2013/10/08 Policymakers at the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday decided to hold the benchmark cash rate unchanged at a record-low of 2.5 % for a second consecutive time and said a weaker exchange rate would help to rebalance economic increase. The RBA has reduced the cash rate by a cumulative 225 basis points since November 2011 on the premise that accommodative policy is needed to support request in areas outside the resources sector, as the peak in mining investment approaches. In a statement, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said the Australian dollar rose recently, but is still about 10 % below its level in April. "A lower level of the currency than seen at present would assist in rebalancing increase in the economy," he said. Stevens said the easing in monetary policy since late 2011 has supported interest-sensitive spending and investment values. "The full effects of these decisions are still coming through, and will be for a while from presently on," he added.
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