Monetary Policy
Reserve Bank of Australia wary of risks from European contagion
RBA Monetary Policy Committee signals ongoing concern at contagion effect from Europe dampening Australian prospects
QE is ‘decisively working’ say CBP panellists
Central Banking On Air event focuses on impact of quantitative easing; panellists agree emergency monetary policy steps have been effective but question whether the Fed has ‘over-committed’ itself
Bank of Greece delivers policy report for ‘critical year’
Greek central bank announces bleak prediction for economy in 2012; calls on government to go above and beyond to ensure reform programme is implemented
Some BoJ policy members wanted QE by year-end
Minutes of Bank of Japan meeting in February indicate some officials discussed implementing QE by the end of 2012
BoE’s Broadbent discusses economic risks and stimulus
External member of the Bank of England's MPC discusses the UK's recovery and key risks facing the economy; says withdrawal of monetary stimulus should not happen 'any time soon'
National Bank of Hungary studies voting by MPC members
Research from the Hungarian central bank finds evidence that preference heterogeneity is random among the members of the policy-setting committees at the central banks of Poland and Hungary
SNB commits to controversial exchange rate policy
Swiss national bank pledges to protect minimum exchange rate against the euro; says currency value is 'still high'
Liikanen urges controlled and timely policy readjustments
Governor of the Bank of Finland applauds impact of emergency ECB policy steps and talks of careful unwinding of positions
Fed launches Twitter account
Federal Reserve Board to 'tweet' information on speeches and reports to the Congress, among other items
Robert Pringle's Viewpoint: Strauss-Kahn on central banks, the euro and the dollar
Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s personal failings deprived the world of a leader with the expertise, vision and drive to push though vital monetary and economic reform. But his views still hold weight
Norway lowers benchmark rate again
Norges Bank surprises markets by announcing 0.25 percentage point cut to key policy rate; governor says continuing downturn abroad and strong krone are keeping inflation low and "weighing on growth"
China prepares for MPC overhaul
State news agency reveals new members of monetary policy committee; all three are senior academics in the country
Fed releases stress test results early
Federal Reserve reveals results of latest bank stress testing two days early; finds majority of largest US banks would continue to meet expectations for capital adequacy despite large projected losses
Weidman explains plummeting Bundesbank profit
President of the Deutsche Bundesbank explains why profit dropped drastically in 2011; increased risks led central bank to boost buffers
BoE’s Fisher warns of potential policy conflict
Paul Fisher describes potential for conflict between the policy decisions of the MPC reflecting desire to meet inflation target, versus the FPC's aim to maintain financial stability
BoJ to continue easing until it hits 1% inflation goal
The Bank of Japan says it plans to continue "powerful easing" until a 1% inflation target is in sight but rejects motion to increase its asset purchase programme by another 5 trillion yen
Draghi urges government action to spur recovery
President of the European Central Bank discusses internal and external eurozone competition and calls on countries to act during period of relative financial stability to advance economic reforms
US must get tough on China to fix imbalances, says Aliber
The US can reduce its government deficit and unemployment rate if it addresses the ‘predatory’ trading and currency policies of China and other Asian countries, says leading economist Robert Aliber
IMF paper looks at exchange rate volatility and currency pegs
Recent IMF research paper investigates the role of trade patterns in shaping the volatility of the effective exchange rate under two alternative peg regimes
Central Bank of Colombia minutes reveal dispute
Minutes from recent Colombian central bank board of director's meeting show split over whether to raise benchmark rate
Australia’s Lowe confronts the country’s changing economy
RBA deputy governor calls on Australia to make the most of the opportunities a shifting world economy offers the country
Asia-Pacific keeps rates on hold as Brazil surprises with 75bp cut
Korea, Indonesia and New Zealand keep benchmark interest rates on hold despite surprise 75 basis point cut by the Central Bank of Brazil to 9.75%
Australia leaves benchmark rate unchanged again
Reserve Bank of Australia decides to keep cash rate unchanged at 4.25%; follows surprise decision in February to do the same
IMF’s Min Zhu on macro-prudential policy implementation
Deputy managing director of the IMF opens conference on macro-prudential policies; says countries must address three “crucial issues” to make these policies effective