Monetary policy
When monetary tools start to lose their edge
This article asks what central bankers do when their monetary tools begin to lose their edge. This may be a question that the Federal Reserve is having to address at the moment, it says. The Federal Reserve's challenge seems to be that the linkage…
Bank of England MPC Minutes, 12 &13 January
The minutes from the 12 & 13 January meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee published on Wednesday 26 January showed the nine members voted unanimously to hold rates at 4.75 per cent.
The Reform of October '79: How it happened and why
This study in the Federal Reserve's Finance and Economics Discussion Series offers a historical review of the monetary policy reform of October 6, 1979, and discusses the influences behind it and its significance.
Bank of England MPC Minutes, 8&9 December
The minutes from the 8 & 9 December meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England showed that members voted unanimously to leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged, with some policy makers raising the possibility of a rate cut.
BoE's Bean on the UK economy
In a speech given on 25 November, Charles Bean of the Bank of England said considerable uncertainties surround the UK economic outlook.
BoJ monetary policy meeting minutes12/13 October
The Bank of Japan released the minutes from its 12 and 13 October Monetary Policy meeting on 24 November. The minutes indicated that one member urged the central bank to get prepared to shift from the present monetary policy framework of quantitative…
Bank of England MPC Minutes, 3&4 November
The minutes from the 3 and 4 November meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England were released on 17 November. The minutes showed that policymakers preparing their quarterly forecasts saw growth near trend and inflation on course to…
Macfarlane: Monetary Policy & Financial Stability
At a speech given in Melbourne, Reserve Bask of Australia governor, Ian Macfarlane highlights rising risks within the Australian home loan market.
SARB, Monetary Policy Review, Nov 2004
The South African Reserve Bank has published its Monetary Policy Review for November 2004. Inflation has remained within the target range for the past 13 months. This outcome was achieved through responsible monetary and fiscal policies, improved…
Bank of England MPC Minutes, 6&7 October
The minutes from the 6 and 7 October meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England were released on 20 October. All nine MPC members voted to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.75 percent this month, while there seemed to be no…
BOJ's Sept. Monetary Policy Mtg Minutes
The Bank of Japan released the minutes from its 8 and 9 September Monetary Policy meeting on 18 October. The minutes showed that the bank was not greatly worried by a slowdown in export and industrial output growth, seeing it as due to temporary factors…
Bank of England voted 9-0 to hold rates in Sept
The Bank of England said on Wednesday 22 September that it voted 9-0 to hold rates at 4.75 per cent in its 8 and 9 September MPC meeting. The Bank noted that recent labour market data was "surprisingly weak," though inflationary pressures were still…
Minutes of Bank of England MPC, August
Minutes from the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee revealed a unanimous decision to raise interest rates in August, but indicate that the UK may be approaching the end of the series of rate rises which began in November 2003.
Are there too many yes men on the MPC?
This article reports that the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has remained significantly more consensual than their predecessors, with an average "maverick rating" of just under three compared with nearly five among previous members. This…
Research says BoE's MPC lacks 'vigorous debate'
Research published on Thursday 5 August suggested the Bank of England's interest rate setting Monetary Policy Committee lacks "vigorous debate" partly explained by the increasingly dominant influence of Mervyn King.
BoE united on decision to hold rates, 7/8 July
Minutes for the Bank of England's 7 and 8 July Monetary Policy Committee meeting released on Wednesday 21 July showed the MPC voted unanimously to keep interest rates steady at 4.5 per cent but indicated that borrowing costs would have to rise again in…
BoJ's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes, 14/15 June
The Bank of Japan released the minutes from its 14 and 15 June Monetary Policy Meeting on 16 July. Members said that many economic indicators released since the previous meeting were relatively strong for Japan, and agreed that the economy continued to…
Brazil cb COPOM Minutes15/16 June
The Banco Central Do Brasil has published the minutes of the 97th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (COPOM), 15 and 16 June. Recent economic activity indicators confirm the continuity of the economic rebound process initiated in the second quarter…
BoJ's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes, 19/20 May
The Bank of Japan released the minutes from its 19 and 20 May Monetary Policy Meeting on 30 June. Many members said that the Bank was conducting monetary policy in accordance with the commitment based on the CPI. Some members said that it was becoming…
UK's King says MPC doesn't target house prices
The Bank of England's governor Mervyn King insisted on Tuesday 29 June that the interest rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee does not target house prices when it sets interest rates.
Bank of England raises interest rates to 4.5%
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted to raise the Bank's repo rate by 0.25 percentage points on Thursday 10 June. The Bank said that inflationary pressures were likely to continue building.
BOE's Nickell sees further rate rises
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Steve Nickell said in an interview with the Times newspaper that the bank's benchmark interest rate will need to rise further.
Seven rules of foreign exchange
Economic fundamentals hold in the long run, but what drives currency markets in the short run? In this personal view, Avinash Persaud finds clues in watching what central banks say, and what they do.
Bank of Japan's MP Meeting Minutes, April 04
The Bank of Japan released the minutes from its 8 and 9 April Monetary Policy Meeting on 25 May. Some Policy Board members said domestic long-term interest rates needed close monitoring and cited the risk of long-term interest rates rising before there…