The Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are being held in Washington, DC, this coming weekend. G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will also be convening on the sidelines of these meetings from 17 to 19 April. One of the main topics at the meeting will be organisational reforms at the International Monetary Fund.

In the opinion of Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, monetary policy makers must not stand idly by at the first signs of speculative exaggerations in the asset markets. As part of their existing mandate, they have to also take into account the effects of financial imbalances on price stability.

The German economy was buoyant during the first three months of the year. The Bundesbank economists, writing in the latest Monthly Report, expect economic output to remain on a marked upward trajectory in the second quarter. Another topic they discuss is what needs to be done to strengthen the regulatory framework underpinning European monetary union.

The Deutsche Bundesbank posted a profit of €2.95 billion for the 2014 financial year, compared with €4.59 billion in 2013. Speaking at the financial statements press conference in Frankfurt am Main, Bundesbank­ President Jens Weidmann mainly attributed the year-on-year decline in net profit to the further drop in interest income.

Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States together form the G7, an informal gathering of the most important industrial economies. The heads of state or government as well as the finance ministers and central bank governors of the G7 nations meet regularly to exchange views and opinions and to coordinate joint policy positions.

Until the end of 2015, Germany has assumed the presidency of the gatherings of the G7, the seven most advanced industrial countries in the world. During this time, the sessions of the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors will be chaired by Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann and Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble.

 Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann believes that the French and Italian governments have finally accepted that reforms had been put on hold for too long. Implementation was now key, he said in an interview with the German weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT, adding that he sincerely hoped for success because both countries were extremely important for the stability of the euro area.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has published its first-ever account, a document summarising the discussions of the ECB Governing Council's monetary policy meetings. The minutes of these meetings, however, will continue to remain locked away for 30 years.

According to the Deutsche Bundesbank's current Monthly Report, prices for apartments and houses are still increasing, but upward pressure on housing prices has weakened, especially for properties in urban areas.

The steep slide in oil prices and the euro's depreciation stimulated economic growth in Germany towards the end of 2014. Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.7% in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared with the third quarter. The Bundesbank writes in its latest Monthly Report that the economic upturn is set to continue in the current year.