Monetary Policy
Ukraine central bank says currency can be stabilised without interventions
The National Bank of Ukraine does not for now see the need to intervene in currency markets to stabilise the exchange rate; new deputy governor appointed
New monetary policy tools in Hungary introduced to wean country off external debt
The Central Bank of Hungary is tweaking its policy tools to incentivise lenders to purchase more domestic bonds, so reducing government’s need for foreign-denominated debt
Bank of Russia hikes interest rates amid growing signs of stagflation
The Bank of Russia raised its suite of interest rates by 50 basis points after one percentage point inflation increase since mid-March; says ‘persistently high' oil prices have ‘stabilising effect'
Poloz says low rates may be new norm
Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz says there is growing consensus that interest rates will remain at low levels even when the Canadian economy has recovered
Danish central bank ends negative rates experiment
National Bank of Denmark moves deposit rate into positive territory for first time in two years; Reserve Bank of New Zealand delivers second successive rate hike
Riksbank minutes reveal fissures on ‘leaning against the wind' amid low inflation
The Riksbank's decision not to cut interest rates amid weak inflation earlier this month was preceded by heated debate, minutes show
Draghi comes out in favour of ECB minutes
ECB president Mario Draghi says publishing a ‘more complete account’ of monetary policy deliberations would ‘strengthen’ decision-making process
Draghi maps out ECB reaction function
Mario Draghi reveals the different circumstances under which the ECB would use each of the monetary policy instruments at its disposal
Exchange rate depreciation is of limited benefit to small, open economies, says Barbados governor
Central Bank of Barbados's DeLisle Worrell says small, open economies face forex constraint that frames economic policies and cannot be alleviated by fall in real exchange rate
IMF paper finds QE cut real US Treasury yields by 140bp between 2008-12
Using a structural arbitrage-free model of demand pressures on US real interest rates, working paper finds domestic and foreign purchases has had big impact
Bank Indonesia sets sights on regional inflation
Indonesia’s central bank signs MoU with government to signal greater focus on regional price stability, as it looks to shackle high levels of inflation
Riksbank deputy leads defence against Svensson critique
Vice-governor one of several heavyweights, including former governor and Nobel Foundation head Lars Heikensten, to take on Lars Svensson, who blames the bank for causing unemployment
Buba's Dombret says ECB agrees there are limited risks of deflation
Low inflation in the eurozone should not become deflation, Andreas Dombret says in a speech at the Dallas Fed, as current low inflation reflects unique factors
Fed paper challenges New Keynesian orthodoxy
Working paper argues sticky prices, which underpin most central banks’ New Keynesian models, can produce implausible results at the zero lower bound, with major implications for policy
Rosengren calls on FOMC to update forward guidance
Boston Fed president Eric Rosengren – who is not on the FOMC this year – calls for guidance to be increasingly linked to achieving the dual mandate
Ukraine hikes rates as fears grow of spiralling inflation
Ukraine is implementing economic reforms in order to win the favour of international donors, but the weakening currency risks sending inflation out of control
Israel to announce rate decisions while trading floor is open
Move will bring Israeli central bank in line with its international peers but unlikely to make much practical difference, observers say
Empirical study informed Friedman's shift to monetarism
Divergence in views of Milton Friedman and Henry Simons was due to different emphasis on data construction and analysis, argues George Tavlas
Foreign banks acted as 'buffer' on Korean monetary policy during the crisis
Bank of Korea working paper examines the impact of foreign banks on the central bank’s monetary policy transmission mechanism during the recent crisis
Top central bankers meet at IMF to discuss way forward in the 'new normal'
IMF's Christine Lagarde hosts day-long conference taking on the challenges set to face the world's central bankers in the medium term
Central bank communication key to herding behaviour, BoJ paper finds
‘Two layer’ model of investor information highlights crucial role for central bank communications in causing – and containing – herding behaviour in markets
PNG governor says central bank braced for LNG revenues
Bank of Papua New Guinea governor cautious in face of liquefied natural gas production coming online later this year, which could boost growth but may result in a decline in the manufacturing sector
Bank of England and ECB in joint call to put ABS back in play
European Central Bank and Bank of England promise more thorough treatment of how to reverse asset-backed securities market decline - which could allow ECB to undertake QE
Bernanke and Rajan cross swords over policy spillovers
Former Fed chairman challenges RBI governor’s analysis of monetary policy spillovers, after Rajan calls for greater co-operation between central banks