Monetary Policy
BoE could ease with deflation looming
Record low inflation may turn negative in the spring, inflation report shows; Mark Carney says rate cuts and QE remain options but BoE still expects next move to be a rate hike
Riksbank goes negative and launches QE
Swedish central bank announces unprecedented measures to ‘safeguard' inflation expectations; rates ‘far from lower bound' says Ingves
Dallas Fed’s Fisher calls for FOMC reform
Richard Fisher unveils a range of proposals aimed at reducing the power of the New York Fed and Board of Governors in monetary policy decisions
Central banks in CEE take different views on inflation drop
Institutions in Romania and Hungary forecast a quick return to target, while those in Poland and the Czech Republic sound a more cautious note about the inflation outlook
Japan at a turning point but liquidity risks loom, say panellists
Panel at Japan Securities Summit including BoJ’s Takehiro Sato believes Japan’s ‘certain, coordinated and creative’ policy mix will deliver the first turnaround in 20 years
Carney: Expectations of Fed tightening could trigger ‘sharp adjustment’ in financial markets
FSB chairman says the ‘ongoing disconnect’ between risk-taking in financial markets and the real economy ‘poses the threat of sharp adjustments’
Canadian economy may have more slack than headline figures suggest, says senior deputy
Bank of Canada's Carolyn Wilkins says measures of labour market slack show ‘greater unused capacity' than broader indicators
BoJ nominee Harada: monetary stimulus, fiscal discipline
A review of Yutaka Harada’s published papers and articles reveals the Bank of Japan Policy Board nominee is likely to favour more stimulus from the central bank and less from the government
Ageing population may boost inflation, BIS paper finds
Working paper challenges received wisdom that an ageing population causes disinflation, with implications for the correct calibration of monetary policy
FOMC forward guidance adds to 'market confusion', say leading US economists
The Fed lacks 'clearly formulated' normalisation strategy, paper to be published by Central Banking argues; calls for adherence to 'disciplined inflation targeting rule'
Dallas Fed report calls for better understanding of global finance
Globalisation annual report urges monetary policy-makers to take account of global financial flows and seeks a better understanding of interdependence
Greenspan: Eurozone could collapse without political union
Former Fed chair Alan Greenspan says it is ‘very difficult’ to imagine the eurozone remaining intact without political union, while it is ‘just a matter of time’ before Greece departs
Danish central bank prepared to cut rates further in defence of peg
‘We haven’t yet found any absolute lower bound' for the deposit rate, Danish governor tells Central Banking, but acknowledges potential for strain on payments system
Belarus eyes policy overhaul
National Bank of the Republic of Belarus says it will exercise ‘tight control’ over the money supply in an effort to shackle inflation; questions over where this leaves exchange rate peg
Boston Fed’s Rosengren flags key elements of successful QE
Eric Rosengren sets out the most successful design features from the Fed’s experience of quantitative easing and hints ‘other parts of the globe’ may have acted too late
Denmark cuts deposit rate for fourth time in three weeks
Governor Lars Rohde says central bank will defend peg to euro ‘for as long as it takes', adding there is ‘no upper limit' to FX reserves as key rate is cut to -0.75%
Weidmann prescribes dose of discipline for eurozone
Bundesbank president says governments must accept liability for their own fiscal actions; sees no ‘urgent need’ for QE and warns of policy side effects
Ukrainian hryvnia drops 30% after central bank action
Currency in freefall after National Bank of Ukraine scraps subsidised forex auctions and simultaneously increases its key discount rate by 550bp
ECB’s collateral move adds pressure to Greek negotiations
Decision to cease accepting some Greek debt as collateral two weeks earlier than necessary turns banks toward ELA and adds pressure to political negotiations
Meltzer accuses Fed of three ‘major’ errors
Writing in the Central Banking Journal, Allan Meltzer argues the Fed continued QE for too long, while relying too heavily on ‘noisy’ data and too little on monetary and credit aggregates
PBoC takes action against tighter liquidity
Cut in reserve requirements seen as effort to ease liquidity due to lunar new year and capital outflows, but may do little more than offset a growing shortage
BoJ’s Iwata says QQE is a break with history
Deputy governor says latest asset purchases programme a sign of dramatic ‘regime change’ and consumers will have to respond – it is just a question of when
Prasarn dismisses threat of deflation as headline rate goes negative
Thai governor pens letter to finance minister after headline inflation falls to -0.4% in January; IMF sees ‘scope for further easing' as two MPC members dissent on rate hold
New York Fed unveils new way to calculate funds rate
Central bank plans to base the rate on a new dataset that captures a broader range of market activity; move likely to happen in about a year’s time