Monetary Policy
RBA counter-cyclical moves will be 'inevitable', says Commonwealth Bank economist
RBA monetary policy minutes released yesterday say scope remains for rate cuts later this year; commentators expect macro-prudential tools to 'become inevitable' to avoid a housing bubble
Fed’s Yellen sees little evidence of stability danger from easy policy
Janet Yellen defends accommodative stance of US monetary policy; says there is no ‘pervasive evidence’ that policies are causing overheating
Draghi faces hostile Strasbourg reception but questions track record of SME lending schemes
ECB president grilled by European Parliament over the inability of small businesses to access credit; says action is 'absolutely essential'
Paper finds pro-cyclical labour market in the great recession
Researchers claim US labour force participation since 2007 violates conventional wisdom on acyclical behaviour
World Bank says east Asia and Pacific at risk of ‘overheating’
Asia-Pacific policymakers urged to consider withdrawing stimulus – fiscal and monetary – as region’s larger economies reach their productive capacity and face inflationary pressures
Eurozone problems still ‘looming large’, says Draghi
ECB president Mario Draghi says ECB’s policy not affecting all eurozone countries; central bank cannot tackle root causes of crisis and urges improved competitiveness
Central bank remits have little impact on policy
Bank of England MPC member says the weight central banks ascribe to output and employment makes little difference to the monetary policy they follow
New DSGE model finds anticipated 'low for long' policy can cause a boom
Finnish paper, inspired by US policy of the early 2000s, finds combination of too-low-for-too-long interest rate policy and optimism leads to an increase in overall leverage
Draghi enters fray to defend Cyprus central bank independence
ECB president warns Cyprus government against violating the central bank’s independence by dismissing its governor; says any gold sales should benefit the central bank ‘first and foremost’
Kuroda outlines thinking behind monetary shock tactics
New BoJ governor says ‘quantitative and qualitative measures' will remain in place until inflation stabilises at the 2% level, and explains why he rejected a gradual approach to easing
Central banks 'getting away with murder', says currency investor
Central banks are pursuing the wrong policies and will find it difficult to know when to tighten monetary policy, says Axel Merk
Plosser: Fed should cut asset purchases now
Philadelphia Fed president says there has been ‘substantial improvement’ in US economy and labour market; sees scope to taper asset purchases now and end programme altogether in 2013
Interest rate forecasts ‘constrain’ central banks
Norwegian paper finds that Norges Bank and Reserve Bank of New Zealand are ‘reluctant to deviate’ from interest rate paths they have previously published
IMF annual report says asset bubbles among risks of ‘MP-plus'
IMF warns of risk associated with loose monetary policy in the world's biggest economies, but says stance should remain 'very accommodative until recovery is well established'
Palestine Monetary Authority finds greater parity between West Bank and Gaza territories
Palestinian central bank develops business-cycle indicator to assess economic performance in real time; finds gap in performance between two territories is shrinking
Norges Bank governor outlines Norwegian model for stability
Øystein Olsen tells Harvard audience of Norway's fiscal rule and inflation-targeting - but warns the system has yet to be seriously tested
IMF says independent central banks have ‘muzzled’ the inflation threat
World Economic Outlook says central banks have little reason to fear inflation resulting from loose policy – so long as their independence is upheld
FOMC members saw QE continuing ‘through midyear’ at March meeting
Participants at the FOMC’s last meeting broadly agreed to continue QE at existing pace ‘through midyear’ but failed to reach a consensus on when to slow asset purchases
Polish paper scrutinises interest rate holds
Research finds that central banks keep interest rates unchanged on majority of occasions; proposes model that distinguishes between rate-holds in period of tightening, easing and neutrality
BoJ minutes reveal tensions over asset purchase programme
Minutes of final meeting under governor Masaaki Shirakawa show disagreement over whether to loosen policy further, including changes to quantitative easing
Lagarde fears ‘unintended consequences’ of monetary easing
IMF managing director fears side effects from low interest rates and asset purchases; says there is a limit to the share of the burden of recovery that monetary policy can take
IMF paper uses monetary model to explain term premium
Study says central bank supply of liquidity influences asset prices; argues that this relationship can explain greater proportion of term premium than non-monetary models
US non-farm payroll stats strengthen case for more QE
Boston Fed president joins calls to continue QE programme as US employment recovery falters
Yellen calls quantitative thresholds a ‘major improvement’ in forward guidance
Federal Reserve vice-chair justifies move to unemployment-based guidance; says clear ‘exit principles’ are important for ending quantitative easing safely