Articles by Arvid Ahlund
Central Bank of Nicaragua appoints Ovidio Reyes president
General manager was made acting president when Alberto Guevara was stripped of his responsibilities in mid-January, but was only officially appointed on Thursday
Bank of Ghana brings forward rate decision as falling currency feeds inflation
The central bank's monetary policy committee will meet tomorrow instead of February 19 following further weakening of the cedi; analysts expect rate increase of at least 100 basis points
Unanimous Fed decision to taper 'sets precedent'
FOMC scales back monthly purchases by another $10 billion, makes no mention of EM turmoil; unanimous decision seen as making dissent less likely in coming meetings
Turkey and South Africa shock markets with interest rate hikes
South Africa and Turkey join India in raising rates in the face of persistent inflationary pressures and sharp currency devaluations, ahead of the FOMC decision later today
Nigerian deputy says investment, not aid, will lead Africa to prosperity
Kingsley Moghalu, head of financial stability at the Central Bank of Nigeria, calls for ‘nationally defined' growth strategy and the ‘political will' to realise it
Central Bank of Turkey calls emergency meeting
Monetary policy committee will announce decision at midnight local time tomorrow night; expectations of rate hike see lira bounce back from record lows, but analysts remain cautious
Argentina lifts capital controls as peso's slide continues
Argentina lifts capital controls a day after central bank quits trying to prop up the currency
Central Bank of Turkey sells $2.5bn in attempt to halt lira freefall
Central bank buys local currency for an estimated $2.5 billion in one day, upping stakes on strategy that has seen it spend one-third of net reserves since June
Head of the Central Bank of Nicaragua removed by decree
Alberto Guevara was transferred to a different, as yet unknown, position within the government last week; the general manager is standing in and the bank is expected to comment publicly on Friday
RBI report recommends inflation target under new monetary policy framework
Committee set up by Raghuram Rajan in September calls for formal nominal inflation target of 4% to be phased in over two years; also recommends sweeping changes to bank's organisational structure
Bank of Israel staff get bump in wages
Recently struck deal raises salaries by 1.78% and also increases wages retroactively for 2012 and 2013; governor Flug recently recieved 50% pay increase after push by former governor Stanley Fischer
Turkish prime minister praises central bank rate hold as lira falls to record lows
PM's comments following bank's decision to keep rates at 7.75%, despite a sharp drop in the lira's value in the past month, raise questions about government's role in monetary policy decision-making
Central Bank of Brazil raises rates for seventh time in a row
Selic rate increased 50 basis points to 10.5% in unanimous decision following disappointing inflation figures published last week; rate up 275 basis points since April 2013
BoE's Carney downplays UK housing risks
The governor, who is also head of the country's principal macro-prudential regulator, says higher prices and ‘mortgage availability' is due to housing market bouncing back from ‘low base'
Yellen approved as Fed chairwoman
US Senate approves Janet Yellen as Federal Reserve's first female chair, in closest vote to date; adjusting unconventional policies to improving economic conditions ‘greatest challenge', says analyst
Fed taper met with calm, but questions remain
Markets take ‘expected' tapering in stride, but analysts warn of persistent emerging market vulnerabilities and changing FOMC dynamics in 2014
Central Bank of Iceland to offload Kaupthing bonds acquired in the crisis
The bank will sell $860 million worth of covered bonds issued by Kaupthing Bank before the financial crisis over the next five years
Carney defends forward guidance as UK unemployment falls closer to BoE threshold
Bank of England governor says reaching 7% unemployment threshold does not presuppose monetary tightening, but rather incorporates a deliberate buffer before full employment is reached
Riksbank cuts rates on falling inflation, leaning less against the wind
Swedish central bank cuts interest rates by 25bp to 0.75% to counter falling inflation; household debt levels still a risk, says Ingves, but calls on ‘others' to do more to keep them in check
Jörg Asmussen quits the ECB to return to politics
Executive board member leaves the bank after two years to become deputy labour secretary in new German government; Buba's Sabine Lautenschlaeger an early favourite to replace him
Peruvian Congress approves central bank board members after two-year delay
Depleted board expected to be back at full strength next week after three appointees finally get green light from the legislature; originally appointed in July, but sacked following street protests
Slovenian banks need €4.8 billion cash injection, government says
Public bailout expected to raise public debt burden by 20 percentage points; country's three largest banks in particular dire straits, according to recently wrapped-up external asset quality review
Bolivian central bank under fire for lending to public enterprises
IMF tells CentralBanking.com the unorthodox practice is ‘counterproductive' and out of step with international norms; bank's constitutional mandate and lending arrangement makes loans legal
Norges Bank issues ‘secret' advice on prudential regulation
Norwegian finance ministry will publish central bank recommendations on countercyclical buffers only once it has decided whether or not to follow the advice; bank holds interest rates at 1.5%