Monetary Policy
IMF charts path towards PBoC policy rate
Staff report encourages the People’s Bank of China to stabilise borrowing costs in the interbank market as an ‘interim step’ towards establishing a policy rate
Central Bank of Colombia raises rates for fourth consecutive month
Bank raises benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.25% as annual growth is expected to reach 5% this year on the back of jump in household spending
Fed's Plosser dissents over unchanged forward guidance in face of US 'rebound'
Janet Yellen sees second dissent since taking the Federal Reserve chair in January; FOMC language suggests members are becoming more sanguine about economic trajectory
IMF endorses Japan's QQE despite slowing progress to 2% inflation target
IMF says Bank of Japan does not need to intensify its QQE programme ‘at this point’, though BoJ policy-maker Kiuchi says 2% inflation may need to be a 'long-term' goal
Central Bank of Brazil yet to see effects of tightening cycle
Inflation 'still shows resistance', July minutes note; bank lowered reserve requirements for lenders last week in bid to inject additional liquidity into Brazilian economy
BIS paper with New York Fed unveils new measure of underlying inflation
Economists from the Bank for International Settlements and Federal Reserve Bank of New York present a new measure that can be updated on a daily basis
IMF warns monetary tightening could hit EM growth
Advanced economies should collaborate with emerging markets, Fund says, to mitigate spillover effects of monetary tightening; says global imbalances remain too high
Italy's Visco calls for more 'symmetric' monetary policy
Central banks should be prepared to tighten policy pre-emptively, Ignazio Visco writes in forthcoming Central Banking journal, in order to head off financial crisis
Central Bank of Brazil lowers bank reserve requirements in bid to boost liquidity
Reserves held against deposits cut in half as CBB hopes to inject $20 billion into economy; move ‘seems to be aimed squarely at getting economy going ahead of elections', says analyst
Bangladesh Bank lays out monetary policy stance for the rest of 2014
Central bank aims at lower inflation and external stability through containing money growth and building up foreign reserves
IMF calls for clarity on BoE monetary framework ahead of first rate hike
Bank of England ‘will need to announce soon what its new monetary control framework will be', the Fund says, adding it is ‘waiting to hear' from the bank
Richard Cooper calls for monetary policy co-ordination to smooth global exchange rates
Harvard professor proposes internationally-agreed targets and gradual capital controls to mitigate worst effects of fluctuating exchange rates
Serbia central bank takes aim at food price volatility to bring inflation in line
Agricultural commodity price volatility accounted for more than two-thirds of headline inflation volatility in 2013, the central bank says, leading it to seek measures to combat it
IMF calls on Fed to formally explain policy normalisation strategy
IMF stresses need for 'greater clarity' on how Fed intends to exit accommodative policy stance; warns use of Fed funds rate could 'pose challenge' amid balance sheet reduction
Bank of England 'edges closer' to rate rise
Mark Carney notes ‘quickest job creation on record' since he took office last July amid confusing labour data; market practitioners say likelihood of a rate hike this year is rising
Cœuré spells out difficulties of global monetary policy co-ordination
European Central Bank’s Benoît Cœuré says he is 'not convinced' the existing approach to co-ordination should be overhauled; rejects feasibility of a 'global planner'
‘Shadow' Fed funds rate suggests Fed should have loosened more following crisis
Kansas City Fed study says Fed should have been more active in early stage of ‘Great Recession' but also notes policy became ‘considerably' more accommodative over time
IMF staff note: Structural reforms 'more desirable' than nominal wage cuts in Europe
International Monetary Fund staff note says ‘many reforms’ are still needed in deficit countries; highlights benefits of greater fiscal integration in longer term
RBA governor questions impact of QE on risk-taking in real economy
Glenn Stevens says it is ‘hard to read’ whether the effects of QE are filtering through to the real economy; business capital spending remains low in many major economies
The reorientation of central bank policy objectives
In this sponsored feature, Peter Warburton and Joanna Davies discuss how the policy challenges for central banks have been transformed in the aftermath of the global financial crisis
UK parliamentary report calls currency union with independent Scotland a ‘dead parrot'
There will be ‘no currency union of any kind - no ifs, no buts, no fudges, no deals', says chair of Scottish Affairs committee
BoJ board members fear structural problems behind sluggish exports
A ‘few’ members of the policy board are concerned that competitiveness issues are to blame for slow growth in Japanese exports
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: Start policy normalisation now!
Policy changes are needed to reduce the chances of another recession
Weidmann: ECB monetary policy has ‘done its bit', fiscal discipline must prevail
Deutsche Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann says central bank independence could be threatened by lax fiscal policy; says ECB is at 'outer edge of its mandate'