Monetary Policy
Bank of England MPC still split 7-2 on rates
Minutes from the December meeting show Ian McCafferty and Martin Weale voted for a 25bp hike for the fifth consecutive month; they argue wage growth could ‘pick up sharply’
Robert Pringle's Viewpoint: The global finance system is in bad need of repair
Muddling through is not enough: neglect of global money can trigger political earthquakes that sweep away any chance of reasonable debate and compromise
Ingves: Riksbank prepared to launch currency interventions
Swedish governor says central bank prepared to take unconventional measures, including negative interest rates and asset purchases, in light of falling oil prices
Czech National Bank advises against joining ERM II in 2015
Central bank says the government should not set a target date for entry into the eurozone; raises concern over pace of economic convergence and costs of joining
Ruble plummets despite 650bp hike by Bank of Russia
Second interest rate increase in four days does little to stem currency's precipitous decline; analyst calls central bank's apparent reluctance to intervene in forex markets a ‘game changer'
Bonnici disappointed by TLTRO take-up in Malta
Central Bank of Malta governor Josef Bonnici says it "would be a pity" if the country’s banks did not take advantage of the cheap funding on offer
Signs of reflation in Japan as Abe sweeps back to power
Tankan survey shows degree of optimism among businesses and potential for rising wages in coming months, although evidence is mixed; Shinzo Abe reclaims supermajority in election
IMF: Uganda cut policy meetings to improve forecasts
Bank of Uganda now sets policy once every two months in an effort to base decisions on "firmer" data; the ECB will hold eight meetings in 2015 with the BoE set to follow suit in 2016
Brazil’s central bank lowers expectations of further action
Brazil’s central bank says inflation will enter ‘a long period of decline’ next year, as it looks to guide inflation and interest rate expectations
Norges Bank cuts interest rates as krone weakens
Low inflation gives Norway's central bank room to tackle the impact on growth of falling oil prices; governor suggests key rate will remain at record low for the next two years
Bank of England unveils sweeping transparency changes
Bank of England to publish transcripts of monetary policy meetings, cut number of meetings, revamp committee structures and more; Barry Eichengreen says benefits likely to ‘dominate’ costs
Weak TLTRO demand increases pressure on ECB
Banks borrow €129.8 through ECB's second operation; pressure increases on governing council to launch new measures in January or March 2015
Bank of Russia raises interest rates by 100bp
Central bank will continue to hike to stem double-digit inflation; growth expected to remain low "until import-substituting industries develop"
Praet explores QE transmission channels
ECB chief economist considers scope of portfolio rebalancing and signalling effects for both corporate and sovereign bond purchases
Bank of Mexico sells dollars to stop peso decline
Bank of Mexico will buy up to $200 million worth of pesos a day, after a currency depreciation that it fears could boost inflation and push the central bank into an interest rate hike
Tombini: Brazilian inflation might increase in the near term
Central Bank of Brazil governor believes inflation could rise in the next few months on the back of a depreciation in the real, but commits to bring it back to the target ‘as fast as possible’
Central banks should consider financial stability when setting monetary policy, finds BoJ paper
Discussion paper published by the Bank of Japan argues the risk-taking channel of monetary policy has ‘become more important’ as financial intermediation has moved to markets
HKMA launches new liquidity facility
Discount facility for government bonds aims to provide greater flexibility for banks in meeting liquidity needs; HKMA also moves to ‘streamline’ bond tenors
Belarus central bank handed 12% inflation target
President of Belarus expects inflation to fall from 20% to 12%, while the central bank simultaneously reduces its policy rate by at least 500 basis points
Bank of Russia vows to carry out ‘unlimited' interventions to defend ruble
Central bank returns to market less than a month after allowing currency to float; cuts interest rates on forex repos
Argentina governor wants new growth model for LatAm
Central Bank of Argentina governor believes Latin American countries need to invest in infrastructure and boost internal production
Spanish working paper explores inflation dynamics
Research considers the impact of different industrial structures on the response of inflation to technology, interest rate and entry cost shocks
Fisher: Fed should let security holdings 'roll off' at maturity
Dallas Fed president plans to urge FOMC colleagues to ‘think more outside the box' during final four months in office
Brainard says Federal Reserve monetary policy can ‘lean against the wind’
FOMC member says limited range of macro-prudential tools means Fed is more likely than some other central banks to use monetary policy for financial stability purposes – but there are risks