The market for bonds issued by non-financial corporations has grown strongly in recent years. One of the articles in this month’s issue of the Monthly Report looks into the causes of this development.

In the first half of 2017, the Bundesbank registered around 39,700 counterfeit euro banknotes with a nominal value of €2.2 million – 8.7% more than in the second half of 2016. The most frequently counterfeited denomination was the €50 banknote.

Following their recent summit in Hamburg, the G20 leaders have adopted the official G20 communiqué and other declarations and documents. The "G20 Hamburg Action Plan" summarises the outcomes and measures in the area of finance under the German G20 presidency.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes that Germany's growth momentum remains solid. In particular, robust domestic demand and increasing employment make Germany an "engine of growth in the euro area", IMF experts explain.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann believes that the increasingly robust economic recovery in the euro area is creating scope to move away from an ultra-loose monetary policy stance. It is not a question of slamming on the brakes, but of easing off the accelerator a little, he said in a speech delivered in Vienna.

The Bundesbank celebrated its 60th anniversary by hosting an open day in Frankfurt am Main on 1 and 2 July. Around 28,000 visitors eager to gather their own impressions of the Bundesbank flocked to the bank’s Central Office and its Regional Office in Hesse to experience a rich variety of informative and entertaining attractions.

Speaking at an event to mark the Bundesbank's 60th anniversary, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann underscored the institution's importance for the stability culture in Germany and Europe. "Over the last 60 years, the Bundesbank has not been afraid to ruffle a few feathers if it sees stability risks," he said in Stuttgart. That had not damaged its reputation among the general public.

The Bundesbank's president Jens Weidmann has warned that, with increasing demands being made of central banks, the boundary between monetary and fiscal policy risks becoming blurred. Monetary policymakers must make clear that they are guided solely by monetary policy considerations, he said in an interview with German Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

The Bundesbank regards the current design and implementation of the European fiscal rules as problematic. The rules and their implementation are now almost impossible to follow and their binding force is being eroded, it says in the current Monthly Report. The Bundesbank recommends making the rules simpler again and that the exceptions and discretionary leeway be reduced.

The Bank for International Settlements believes that the current economic upswing offers an opportunity to strengthen economic resilience. According to its latest Annual Report, this is the key to reaping the benefits of globalisation.