Monetary Policy
BIS warns central banks to bite the bullet on monetary policy normalisation
BIS annual report says it may already be too late for a gradual exit from unconventional policy; warns markets may pre-empt exit if they feel central banks are behind the curve
Solomon Islands central bank publishes first working paper
Paper considers the efficacy of monetary targeting in Solomon Islands; finds evidence suggesting it is more effective than inflation targeting would be
Irish brief examines relationship between rate changes and bond yields
Economic letter published by the Central Bank of Ireland compares the impact of rate changes on bond yields in the eurozone and Switzerland
Polish paper finds ‘substantial decrease’ in impact of exchange rate on consumer prices
Researchers say the exchange rate channel of the monetary policy transmission mechanism has weakened, but inflation has become more responsive to interest rate changes
Bank of Uganda halves number of MPC meetings
Uganda’s central bank says ‘less frequent’ policy announcements will help businesses plan; MPC will now meet every other month
Macro-pru beats monetary policy for open-economy financial stability
IMF working paper uses open economy framework to show macro-prudential policies are more welfare-enhancing than interest rate rises in seeing off over-exuberance
French economists find UMP had ‘significant’ impact on sovereign yield spreads
Working paper breaks down the determinants of sovereign yield spreads in OECD countries; size of ECB’s balance sheet effects spreads differently across eurozone member states
Central Bank of Turkey cuts main rate as MPC sees inflation in decline
Bank lowers one-week repo rate by 75bp to 8.75%, its second consecutive rate cut, but says it is maintaining a ‘tight policy stance'
Sri Lankan central bank weighs impact of QE on emerging markets
Latest financial system stability review features box on QE; central bank suggests the damage caused by market reaction to the Fed taper outweighed the initial benefits
Central Bank of Hungary rate cut streak hits 23
Central Bank of Hungary cuts rates for the 23rd successive month; monetary council says ‘further cautious easing’ may follow, but suggests cycle will soon conclude
Carney clashes with parliamentarians over ‘unreliable' forward guidance
BoE governor defends suggestion earlier this month that interest rates could rise this year as MP likens central bank to ‘unreliable boyfriend' over changing guidance
Capital controls and exposure to China help EMs weather taper storm
IMF working paper isolates determinants of taper impact on emerging markets; finds capital controls, macro-prudential policies, and exposure to China can mitigate harm
IMF's Singh discusses ‘financial plumbing' issues as central banks leave ZLB
IMF's Manmohan Singh investigates issues around bank balance sheet regulations which may impact monetary policy options as central banks leave the zero lower bound
Hungarian economists take on ‘delayed overshoot' puzzle
Central Bank of Hungary economists examine the effect of carry trade activity on exchange rate dynamics, finding it does not explain delayed overshoot
Riksbank calls on Mervyn King for monetary policy review
Former BoE governor will head up a review, with Marvin Goodfriend, of Sweden's increasingly controversial monetary policy
BoJ deputy says Abe's third arrow must hit target
Hiroshi Nakaso outlines the importance of supply-side reforms in generating stable inflation, robust growth, healthy job creation and reasonable wage hikes
Norges Bank says rates could stay low for longer
Norway's central bank held rates steady today and now projects it to stay lower for longer; banks may be required to build up bigger counter-cyclical buffers
Central Bank of Colombia goes for more detailed minutes
New minutes include more detail about board members' policy views that ‘on occasion may reveal the institution's future policy inclination', according to central bank
IMF says ECB should 'consider' buying eurozone government debt
International Monetary Fund encourages European Central Bank to launch large-scale asset purchase programme if inflation ‘remains stubbornly low’
Fed tapers another $10 billion as US growth rebounds
Starting in July, bank will buy $35 billion of extra assets each month; taper finished by year's end at current pace
Swiss National Bank mulls negative rates to follow ECB
Swiss National Bank governor says ‘closely monitoring' the effect of the ECB's move to negative rates; new measures may be needed to cool housing market
IMF paper makes case for new policy rate in Kazakhstan
Economists say the National Bank of Kazakhstan should be equipped with a new policy rate to give it more direct influence over short-term interest rates
Bank of England MPC minutes reveal surprise over dovish market expectations
BoE minutes show MPC members expected markets to price in earlier rate hike despite bank's vow to keep them low for extended period of time
Haldane says MPC faces ‘corridor of uncertainty'
Bank of England chief economist turns to cricketing metaphors to explain the dilemma faced by the monetary policy committee at this delicate moment for the UK recovery