Monetary Policy
Fed publishes FOMC transcripts from 'crisis year' 2008
Transcripts of FOMC meetings from the year Lehman Brothers went bust reveal thinking behind exceptional monetary policy decisions
Forex loans helped Hungarian firms invest more - until the forint fell in the ‘great recession'
Working paper finds Hungarian firms that borrowed in foreign currencies invested more before the crisis, but experienced a negative balance sheet effect thereafter
Study finds support for Reserve Bank of Fiji's targeting of overnight policy rate
Working paper uses quarterly data for a 10-year period, 'comprehensively estimating all potential money demand equations within the ambit of monetary policy'
Central bank independence is 'oversold', says Cargill
Thomas Cargill, chair of the AEA's session on central bank independence, says rules-based approach first advocated by Milton Friedman is 'far more important' for price stability
Price-setters still expect Sarb to miss inflation target
The South African Reserve Bank has succeeded in persuading analysts it will keep inflation within its target band, but price-setters' expectations remain higher
Fed's Bullard wants more research into what drives labour market participation
St Louis Fed president concludes the existing literature suggests demographics are behind most of the decline in participation, but calls for more detailed work on household participation decisions
RBI and IMF clash over pace of tightening
Staff report from the International Monetary Fund calls for ‘significant increases’ in policy rates, but the central bank is reluctant to cut off the economic recovery
G-20 governors should co-ordinate exit, says IMF
Fund recommends greater co-ordination of monetary policy as well as negative interest rates at the ECB and devaluations in emerging markets, in report to G-20
Central Bank of Chile cuts rate again as currency remains at five-year low
Bank lowers benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 4.25% and hints at further cuts in coming months, but analysts warn currency weakness and drop in copper exports should not be ignored
ECB paper tests resilience of Polish economy to interest rate shocks
Researchers find that output and prices in Poland have become more resilient to both interest rate and exchange rate shocks over the past two decades
Rwanda will keep easy policy while inflationary pressures are ‘limited’
National Bank of Rwanda introduces forward guidance in its latest semi-annual monetary policy statement; outlines plans to improve monetary policy transmission mechanism
BoJ extends lending schemes as economic growth disappoints
Two schemes aimed at stimulating bank lending are expanded and extended as economic data falls below Bank of Japan expectations; analysts expect more easing next quarter
ECB's Praet defends ‘innovative' OMTs
Redenomination risk premia, as faced by the ECB in the eurozone crisis, was a new challenge for central banks that needed a new solution: outright monetary transactions
Weidmann argues in Karlsruhe for strict monetary policy rules
Bundesbank president argues for legal strict limits to central banks' flexibility, saying such rules are particularly important to the functioning of European monetary union
Colombia sees benefit of weaker currency as inflation stays at record lows
Minutes say monetary policy framework is functioning well as lower levels of capital flight allow central bank to retain some of South America's lowest interest rates
Former HKMA chief Yam calls on PBoC to shift to policy rate
Founding chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority publishes a paper calling for interest rate and money base liberalisation on the mainland
Central Bank of Turkey expected to avoid drama with rate hold tomorrow
The bank, which hiked rates by 425 basis points in an emergency meeting on January 29, is widely expected to stay on current path; has continued to sell dollars in February to prop up lira
Noyer paints picture of ‘European Federal Reserve System’
Banque de France governor sets out vision of the ECB operating in a similar style to the Fed – with France taking the place of New York
Independence no substitute for rules-based policy
Thomas Cargill summarises the conclusions of four papers by world-leading economists on the issue of central bank governance and finds independence is overrated
Public opinion of BoJ policy continues to dive
Bank of Japan survey shows majority of Japanese people now think interest rates are too low, while a growing proportion believe the economy will worsen over the next year
UK government rules out 'sterling zone' with independent Scotland
Scotland will face significant challenges in setting up its own currency, establishing a currency board or joining the euro as an alternative to sterling
Countercyclical prudential policies have ‘important implications' for monetary policy
Using a countercyclical macro-prudential instrument in addition to manipulating interest rates improves welfare, IMF paper finds