Monetary Policy
The challenges for central banks
Demands are being made for central banks to consider financial stability alongside price stability, as a key component of their monetary policy. But that is nothing new for central banks
The evolving role of the Eurosystem and its national central banks
Anne Le Lorier pinpoints the challenges Eurosystem central banks will have to address in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
Book notes: Deliberating American Monetary Policy, by Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey
Using recordings of meetings of not only the FOMC but also of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee, the book tries to understand how monetary policy is decided
Emerging market governors favour Fed policy normalisation, says MAS’ Menon
MAS head Ravi Menon says most emerging market central banks want to see the Fed normalise policy, China is at an inflection point and Singapore could lose out from new OTC derivatives rules
Fed survey says 40% of US households still struggling to make ends meet
A third of respondents said they were ‘somewhat or much worse off' than before the financial crisis, while a fifth are spending more than they earn
Minneapolis Fed paper challenges New Keynesian ‘liquidity trap'
New model challenges dominant view of post-crisis monetary policy, claim Minneapolis Fed economists
Bank of Japan expects inflation to remain short of target for ‘some time'
BoJ policy board votes to continue expanding monetary base by ¥60-70 trillion annually; effects of recent decline in demand ‘expected to wane gradually'
Mexico’s Carstens hails Fed’s communication on tapering
Augustin Carstens says Fed has ‘gone out of its way’ to spell out timing and dangers of adjustment; calls on Europe and Japan to ‘depend less on monetary policy’
Agustín Carstens on Fed policy, shadow banking and Mexico's economic strengths
Agustín Carstens, governor of the Bank of Mexico, speaks about the work of the IMF, tackling shadow banking and how Mexico has kept a strong economic position in the midst of the financial crisis.
ECB hiring consultant to help design ABS programme
Mario Draghi says the preparations towards buying asset-backed securities are being made ‘with the expectation we will take action in this field’
Ireland working paper examines effect of ECB policy on interbank repo market
Research by economists from Central Bank of Ireland, New York Fed and Barclays Capital finds some substitution effect between official auctions and repo market activity
Bank of Israel expects 0.4% inflation for 2014
Low rates prompted by flagging domestic demand, appreciation of the shekel and low inflation environment worldwide, bank says in monetary policy report
Bank of Zambia holds interest rate as inflation stabilises
First MPC meeting of new quarterly schedule sees no change in policy; bumper maize harvest and a stabilising exchange rate credited with lowering inflation
Bundesbank economists propose indicator for price competitiveness
Working paper published by the European Central Bank develops new indicator for international price competitiveness in an attempt to provide a tool for policy analysis
RBI’s Rajan warns of possible asset price collapse; euro ‘too strong’
Financial sector imbalances could cause sudden price reversals and sharp spikes in volatility, risks many macroeconomists are still blind to, says Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan
Japan's ageing population will have deflationary effects, IMF paper finds
Deflationary effect will hit other advanced economies too, but can be countered through monetary policy and structural reforms, IMF economists write
Shrinking BoJ balance sheet will take longer post-QQE than in 2006
Economist says unwinding the BoJ’s asset purchases will take longer when QQE finishes than it did at the end of QE in 2006, because this time it is buying bonds with longer maturities
ECB paper quantifies OMT benefits
OMT announcements depressed Italian and Spanish two-year government bond yields by roughly 200 basis points, but left their French and German equivalents ‘largely unaffected’
UK rates set to stay low, says former MPC member Wadhwani
The cost of tightening too late is far lower than that of choking the recovery, says former monetary policy-maker Sushil Wadhwani
Rajan: ‘Let’s fight the anti-inflation fight once’
Raghuram Rajan says risks to inflation target have become ‘more balanced’ in recent months, but stresses the need to remain ‘vigilant’ as RBI holds key rate at 8%
BoE’s Haldane sees greater role for central banks as risks shift
Central banks may have to address different episodes of financial instability as risks shift from the banking sector to other financial players, says BoE chief economist Andrew Haldane
Two future paths for central banking
Andrew Haldane identifies two future worlds for central banks along with their implications for monetary policy, macro-prudential regulation, operations and transparency.
Banque de France's Le Lorier says good communication can ‘substitute' for rate decisions
First deputy says comms can complement decisions in non-crisis times by revealing variables that inform monetary policy; argues monetary and macro-pru mandates can be reconciled
ECB economists find ‘considerable heterogeneity’ in impact of crisis
Researchers say that while borrowers ‘benefited’ from low interest rates, debt burdens increased for poor households as their incomes fell