Debt Management
Developing corporate bond markets in Asia
Thirty participants including high-level officials from central banks in Asia and the Pacific, the European Central Bank and the BIS took part in the BIS/PBC seminar held in Kunming, China on 17-18 November 2005.
Germany to issue inflation-linked bonds
The German government plans to issue inflation-linked bonds this year, but is hoping for an uptick in inflation expectations to time the sale Gerhard Schleif, the head of the nation's debt agency, told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview yesterday.
UK urged to provide more long-term gilts
The UK government should issue more long-term gilts and extend its use of index-linked gilts, investors told the government in an annual consultation meeting on Wednesday 1 February.
Bond market bubble?
It is time to push beyond the "global savings glut" argument and the closely related "excess global liquidity" argument to explain the extraordinarily low level of both real and nominal long-term interest rates, according to this article published on…
Comment: Nigeria's CB wins praise
In the statement accompanying its BB minus long-term credit rating for Nigeria, the rating agency Fitch this week applauded policymakers' "strong commitment to economic reform", including "measures to rationalise the banking system" implemented by the…
Iraq seeking $40bn GCC debt relief
Iraq's central bank chief has said he hopes the Gulf GCC countries will follow the example of other states and give Iraq 'generous treatment' over debt cancellation.
Fed says foreign central banks boost debt holdings
Federal Reserve data released on Thursday 19 January showed foreign central banks were net buyers of US debt in the latest week, with purchases of agency securities slightly exceeding a decline in Treasury holdings.
IMF's Rato to visit Brazil on January 10-11
Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, will visit Brazil on January 10-11, 2006, at the invitation of the President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva to mark the nation's early repayment of its outstanding obligations to the Fund.
ECB addendum to bond markets report
The European Central Bank published an addendum to the November 2004 report entitled "Bond markets and long-term interest rates in non-euro area Member States of the European Union and in accession countries" (third edition) on Monday 2 January.
IMF Paper: Debt overhang or debt irrelevance?
The IMF Working Paper 'Debt overhang or debt irrelevance? Revisiting the debt growth link' published December 2005 asks whether Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) suffer from a debt overhang. Is debt relief going to improve their growth rates, it…
Comment: Latin America spurns the Fund
Last week Brazil and Argentina surprised the international community by announcing that they both intend paying off all of their outstanding debt to the IMF before the end of the year.
Argentina plans full IMF debt repayment
Argentina has said it will pay back its entire $9.8 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund, ending 22-year-old links with the lender.
Comment: Brazil's surprise IMF settlement
Earlier this week Brazil announced that it plans to pay off its entire $15.5 billion in debt to the IMF by the end of the month. In doing so, the country will meet its outstanding IMF obligations two years ahead of schedule.
BIS's Knight on developing corporate bond markets
In the speech 'Sharing experiences in developing corporate bond markets' given on 17 November Malcolm Knight of the BIS argues that a robust financial system requires a diversity of financing channels, in which banks and fixed income markets compete in…
Fitch raises Mexico debt rating
Mexico's debt rating was raised one level by Fitch Ratings as the country reduces foreign debt and inflation decelerates, Fitch said in a statement.
Comment: What drives the price of debt?
How, in a world where the amount of debt is rising rapidly, can credit spreads remain so low or even fall? And is this a sign of strength and stability, or a cause for concern?
China allows IFC, ADB to issue debt
China's State Council has given approval for the International Finance Corp and the Asian Development Bank to issue yuan-denominated debt on the mainland, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on its website.
China's bonding experience gains some speed
This article published on Monday 19 September asks whether China, Asia's No.2 economy, can reach its potential without a bond market. The good news is that efforts to create one are gaining momentum, it says.
UK completes world's first 50 year indexed bond
The UK completed the syndication of its first fifty-year inflation linked bond on Friday 23 September, achieving a price and coverage which demonstrated the strong demand for long-dated bonds, and investors' enthusiasm for inflation protection at this…
The political economy of seigniorage
While most economists agree that seigniorage is one way governments finance deficits, there is less agreement about the political, institutional, and economic reasons for relying on it, according to the IMF Working Paper published Tuesday.
Argentina rebuilds
A re-equipped central bank is able to tackle mounting inflationary pressures in Argentina as the economy prospers, explains Martin redrado
Foreign central banks buying more US debt
Foreign central banks were big buyers of US debt in the latest week, swallowing up similar amounts of both Treasury and agency debt in what was the heaviest week of buying in 2-1/2 months, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday 11 August.