Monetary Policy
Fisher says Fed must stop QE ‘as soon as feasible'
Exit from quantitative easing is ‘daunting' according to Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher, who compared it yesterday to passing a camel through the eye of a needle
‘Yellenomics’ – the second coming of Keynes at the Fed
Janet Yellen's confirmation is an historic shift toward a more activist Fed, a reinstatement of Keynesian economics and expanded government in general, writes Thomas Cargill
Trichet calls on Troika to ‘gradually disappear’
Former ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet defends the central bank’s role in the Troika; says the group should be phased out as policy-makers move away from curing crises and towards preventing them
Belarussian presidential decree sets out 2014 forward guidance
Belarus central bank's key refinancing rate will average between 14% and 16%, according to monetary policy guidelines approved by the president; exchange rate will be based on market forces
Lautenschläger rejects German stereotypes as she closes in on ECB job
Sabine Lautenschläger tells the European Parliament she will not imitate either Weidmann or Asmussen if she is appointed to ECB’s executive board; calls for governing council to publish minutes
RBI’s Mohanty lays out approach to rising food prices
The Reserve Bank of India will have to perform 'a careful balancing act' if it steps in to mitigate rising food prices, says executive director Deepak Mohanty
BoJ’s Shirai warns against rush for 2% inflation at all costs
Sayuri Shirai says it ‘may be appropriate’ to take longer than two years to meet the central bank’s inflation target of 2%; stresses the importance of achieving the goal in a ‘stable’ manner
Disappointing jobs report raises questions over Fed forward guidance
US unemployment falls toward Fed ‘threshold' of 6.5%, but few new jobs are added; confusing result raises questions for how - or whether - the Fed will proceed with its 'taper'
Fed minutes reveal QE wind-down balancing act
Reduction in monthly asset purchases of $10 billion meant to signal slow rather than quick tapering; thresholds becoming less relevant as economy improves
ECB 'strengthens' guidance but keeps policy on hold
Mario Draghi says December’s inflation drop was ‘broadly as expected’ and did not warrant a knee-jerk response; places additional emphasis on governing council’s forward guidance
Hungary minutes show calls to slow rate of cuts
Hungarian monetary policy council decided in December to again cut rates by 20 basis points, but two members argued it was time to slow the rate of easing
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: Janet Yellen - that honeymoon feeling
Comparing what the new Fed chief should do with what is likely
Polish paper says monetary policy transmits mainly through real sector
Researchers at the National Bank of Poland build a structural vector-autoregression model that includes both fiscal and monetary policy
Riksbank board grappling with ‘genuine policy dilemma'
Minutes show last month's cut in interest rate was preceded by considerable apprehension, with one board member describing it as his ‘most difficult' decision to date at the central bank
Yellen approved as Fed chairwoman
US Senate approves Janet Yellen as Federal Reserve's first female chair, in closest vote to date; adjusting unconventional policies to improving economic conditions ‘greatest challenge', says analyst
Philippines governor unperturbed by inflation surge
Amando Tetangco insists the inflation environment is ‘manageable’ despite annual CPI almost doubling in the past four months; central bank hits target for fifth consecutive year
SNB loses $16 billion on gold
The Swiss National Bank expects to report a loss of 10 billion dollars for 2013 as heavy valuation losses on its gold holdings outweigh forex gains and StabFund profits
US Fed heads debate slow growth ‘riddle'
Presidents of four regional reserve banks at odds over whether weak trajectory in wake of the financial crisis is inherently structural or cyclical
Lagarde warns of single currency ‘challenge’ in East Africa
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde tells the East African Community to learn from the genesis of other monetary unions across the globe
Kuroda draws on lessons from Paul Volcker’s Fed tenure
Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda points to Paul Volcker’s success in lowering inflation expectations in the United States as proof of central banks' ability to influence markets
IMF urges full recapitalisation of Ugandan central bank
The Bank of Uganda was recapitalised by the government in June 2013, but further capital injections will depend on the central bank's ability to ‘streamline’ operational costs
RBI's Mohanty reviews policy through crisis years
India's central bank joined its counterparts around the world in using unconventional monetary policy to tackle the financial crisis, and the effects of Fed taper
Chilean central bank puts rate cuts on pause
Minutes from the board’s December meeting reveal members were concerned about spooking markets and wanted to buy time to assess earlier easing
Sri Lankan central bank remodels benchmark rates
Central bank renames its two key interest rates and cuts one of them as money markets normalise and inflation continues to fall