Monetary Policy
Zeti warns of ‘immense' challenges in 2016
Bank Negara Malaysia governor warns of potentially persistent threats to long-term growth at the AFF conference in Hong Kong, but sees a silver lining if policy-makers get it right
Polish governor says inflation will rise slower than expected
Inflation will not turn positive in January 2016 as previously expected, governor Marek Belka says; monetary policy council keeps policy rate unchanged
BoJ paper: inflation expectations do not match target
Study of ‘dissonance’ in forecasts between economic agents and the central bank finds people only believe the BoJ will hit its target in the short to medium term – after that, inflation drops
Volatility fails to shake outlook as BoE holds rates steady
Latest MPC minutes are largely preoccupied with discussion of international developments, but falling oil prices and market volatility do not herald major change in stance
BoE paper seeks to improve forecasts with adaptive model
Using an adaptive model in conjunction with heavy-tailed t-distributions allows authors to deliver ‘substantial improvements’ in forecasting inflation
Indonesia cuts interest rates following Jakarta attack
Local reports suggest central bank's board was meeting at time of bomb blasts in downtown Jakarta; rate cut ‘should provide overdue boost' to the economy but comes with risks, says analyst
Reserve manager of the year: National Bank of Denmark
The National Bank of Denmark's new risk budget-based investment strategy stood up well to the unprecedented flows of funds into and out of the country in 2015.
Consultancy and advisory services provider of the year: BlackRock Solutions
A key partner to major central banks engaging in complex asset purchases, asset quality reviews, resolution mechanisms and strategic asset allocations
Sarb deputy governor sees growing inflation risks ahead of MPC meeting
South African Reserve Bank policy-makers must assess ‘very carefully’ whether its stance remains appropriate, Mminele says; MPC meets January 21
SNB’s Zurbrügg lays out considerations around interventions
Vice-chairman of governing board says there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ method for deciding when or how to intervene in the foreign exchange market
Survey data offers chance to assess eurozone macro-prudential policies, paper argues
Data from the eurozone’s Bank Lending Survey can be used to analyse the effectiveness of different macro-prudential policies, an IMF working paper argues; subject is little known, researchers say
Senate blocks proposal to conduct ‘full audit’ of the Fed
‘Audit the Fed’ bill fails to secure support needed to proceed to Senate floor; Bernanke joins ranks of current and former Fed officials warning of potential threat to independence
Villeroy de Galhau and Fischer express caution over inflation target change
There could be costs to changing inflation targets in response to persistent low inflation, say François Villeroy de Galhau, Christian Noyer and Stanley Fischer
Hungarian central bank eases by scrapping deposit facility
The central bank announces the closure of its two-week deposit facility in April, in a move it hopes will lead banks to buy government bonds and lower long-term yields
Financial market risk being pushed into ETFs, Noyer warns
Central bankers must develop oversight of ETFs and similar securities, Noyer tells farewell seminar; must also convince markets and public of opposition to low inflation and deflation
PBoC looks to expand lending programme for SMEs
Central bank to 'steadily advance' refinancing scheme as economy expected to slow further; Ma Jun clarifies PBoC's position on exchange rate fluctuations
IMF supports tighter monetary policy in Mozambique
Rate rises are necessary to counter the inflationary pressures of currency depreciation, Fund says
Spanish paper models synergies between demand and supply policies in monetary union
Working paper model sees benefits in jointly implementing structural reforms in the ‘periphery’ of a union, with fiscal expansion in the ‘core’ and forward guidance on interest rates
Bank of England paper explores exchange rate pass-through using ‘big data’
Author finds the pass-through to import prices varies depending on the size of the exchange rate movement at the micro level, but it is a different story at the macro level
IMF paper compares impact of monetary and macro-prudential policies
Research considers effects of measures in ‘systemic advanced economies’ on financial conditions both at home and abroad; monetary shocks in US can have ‘significant’ impact
US delivers strong jobs growth to end 2015
Report shows nonfarm payrolls expanded by 292,000 in in December, while figures for both October and November revised up; unemployment rate unchanged at 5% for the third consecutive month
Riksbank minutes reveal debate over monetary framework
Board members welcome debate over target variable and possible reinstatement of tolerance band, but af Jochnick warns changes should not be made simply because of recent failures to hit target
Risk that US public lowers inflation expectations, Chicago Fed president warns
The Federal Reserve’s undershooting of its inflation target in recent years may lower the inflation expectations of the American public, making future monetary policy harder, Evans warns
Denmark hikes deposit rate after record drop in reserves
Central bank lifts deposit rates and reduces banks’ current account limits; capital outflows accelerated in December following ECB actions