Broad money
Inflation: what went wrong, and why?
Three theories on the causes of high inflation and their implications for policy responses
Zimbabwe lifts lending freeze
President had announced total halt to lending in bid to defend local currency
Moldova hikes another 200bp as inflation spirals
Central bank has raised rates nearly 10 percentage points, but inflation is surging towards 20%
Digital money and central banks
Central banks must reflect on the monetary policy, regulatory and financial stability implications from crypto assets, stablecoins and CBDCs to stay relevant in the digital age of money
The IMF’s $650bn SDR allocation and a future ‘digital SDR’
Focus is needed on widening SDR use in payments and the creation of a ‘digital SDR’, to support a large allocation of ‘official’ IMF SDRs, writes Warren Coats
It’s time to smash Iran’s endemic inflation
As Iran goes to the polls, high inflation is still plaguing the economy. Steve Hanke looks at solutions
Lifetime achievement: Charles Goodhart
The LSE and BoE veteran economist has his own ‘law’, and played a key role in the establishment of monetary policy in the UK, Hong Kong’s peg and the ‘New Zealand model’, which influenced a generation of central bankers
Why Bulgaria needs to deepen its currency board
The BNB’s currency board rules should be extended to transaction deposits at commercial banks, which could in turn issue digital currencies, even in the event of euro adoption
Chinese lending hits all-time high in January
Total social financing reached roughly 240% of China’s GDP at end of month
Lifetime achievement: Zhou Xiaochuan
The former People’s Bank of China governor stands out for his high levels of integrity, intellectual rigour and bold reforms that have served the public interest in China and elsewhere
Book notes: Democratizing Money?, by Beat Weber
This is a timely book about ‘how money really works’
Money matters for macro fluctuations – Fed paper
Working paper says previous research by Schularick and Taylor may have been flawed
SNB governor condemns 'sovereign money initiative'
Thomas Jordan calls on voters to reject proposal for new credit system
China's policy transmission increasingly similar to advanced economies – BIS paper
Authors say monetary policy surprises have “sizeable” effects on interest rates in China
Book notes: Money in the Great Recession, by Tim Congdon
A stimulating collection of papers on the monetarist theory that had central bankers in late 2008 focused on boosting the quantity of broad money “the Great Recession would not have happened”
The optimal size for central bank balance sheets
As the Fed seeks to reduce the assets on its balance sheets, Charles Goodhart examines the role between monetary and fiscal policy, central bank and debt office, and the optimal size of a central bank’s balance sheet
Central Bank of Egypt battles to contain devaluation impact
Inflation has rocketed since Egypt aligned official and black market exchange rates, forcing the central bank to take action
Norway’s Nicolaisen: central banks must guard against e-money takeover
Private electronic money can bring drawbacks, especially in a crisis, Norges Bank deputy governor warns; central banks need to come up with better options
State money and bank money: lifting the fog around QE
Steve Hanke says economists are missing important details by focusing on interest rates, rather than the money supply
Sovereign money a ‘risky experiment’ says SNB’s Jordan
Thomas Jordan says sovereign money initiative looking to strip banks of ability to create money would ‘entail a radical overhaul of Switzerland’s financial system’; SNB holds rates
IMF pushes Belarus to adopt new policy framework
International Monetary Fund tells National Bank of Belarus to adopt monetary targeting framework ‘without further delay’; staff and national authorities disagree over exchange rate