Monetary Policy
Economists mull how to improve Fed communications
Paper presented at US Monetary Policy Forum encourages Fed to move away from ‘time-based’ forward guidance; considers what kind of new information would be useful to markets
Dudley flags inflation uncertainty and expectations concern
New York Fed president says uncertainties around his assessment of the inflation outlook have increased; warns of slide in household expectations and stresses need for ‘close scrutiny’
PBoC eases despite continued depreciation fears
China's central bank cuts reserve requirements amid intricate balancing act between arresting slowdown in growth, maintaining financial stability, and safeguarding currency
Indian government unveils final MPC design
Bill has been amended to cut committee size to six and give governor a casting vote in the event of a tie; government also pressing ahead with plans to clean up banking sector
Carney airs scepticism on negative rates
Bank of England governor warns negative rates may only work through exchange rate channel, which would result in a ‘zero sum game’
Democratic Republic of Congo moves to stabilise currency following unscheduled MPC meeting
Central bank outlines plans to sell foreign currency and increase reserve requirements; calls on government for supporting measures
RBI paper questions impact of global spillovers
Authors find money and credit markets in India are largely unaffected by spillovers, although there is an impact via debt markets and the indirect effects of global growth and inflation
Money matters: need for a monetary aggregate revival?
Evidence from the years of the Great Recession justify renewed attention to a broadly defined concept of the quantity of money in central bank research
Hong Kong activity should weather higher rates – paper
Research published by IMF argues consumption and investment will “remain robust”, despite increase in interest rates in tandem with the US
Sarb’s Lesetja Kganyago on divergent monetary policies and new supervision
The governor of the South African Reserve Bank talks to Christopher Jeffery about navigating divergent monetary policies, South Africa’s new supervisory regime and nurturing new talent
Riksbank minutes reveal knife-edge decision to cut
Cecilia Skingsley says decision was hardest since her appointment to the board; strong economy, weak inflation and unconventional policy make for tricky task
IMF staff want better co-ordination between Kyrgyz government and central bank
Reforms are needed to strengthen the legal basis of the central bank and improve monetary policy traction in the country, staff say; better co-ordination is needed on government deposits
NY Fed’s Potter ‘extremely pleased’ with rate control
The Fed’s framework for controlling money market rates has proven ‘effective’ in the wake of December’s lift-off, according to executive vice-president Simon Potter
Is China really the cause of sluggish global growth?
China's policy-makers blame structural problem in the West for global malaise, despite unprecedented monetary stimulus by central banks
Paraguay’s Valdovinos: world has a lot to learn on macro-prudential tools
Paraguayan governor underscores importance of macro-prudential policy but says global economy still has a lot to learn; monetary policy is 'too blunt' to solve all problems
ECB governing council minutes stress need for good communication
Members of the ECB’s Governing Council agreed on the need for good communications but disagreed over the evidence of second-round effects in recent wage dynamics, minutes show
Peso depreciation casts shadow over Mexico rate decision
Central bank adamant it is not in a hiking cycle after 50bp rise; government taking steps to enforce measures on Pemex
FOMC members agree uncertainty over US prospects has ‘greatly increased’
Global uncertainty and financial market volatility increases downside risk for US economy, FOMC members say; committee members express different views over use of fan charts in projections
German constitutional court to rule on OMT ‘in a few months’
Germany’s constitutional court is reviewing the European Central Bank’s outright monetary transactions and their application under German law; decision expected 'in a few months'
Namibia hikes to ‘align’ rates in region
Bank of Namibia hikes by 25bp to 6.75%, following decision in South Africa in January after depreciation of rand hit inflation outlook