Monetary Policy
‘Unofficial dollarisation’ raises significant stability risks, ECB study finds
Emerging markets with large holdings of ‘hard’ currency assets and liabilities are exposed to substantial stability risks and policy failure, finds ECB study
Brazil and South Korea cut rates amid economic gloom
Central Bank of Brazil and Bank of Korea cut interest rates due to poor economic outlook and declines in indicators; Brazil marks eighth consecutive reduction while Korea makes first cut since 2009
SNB paper links low interest rates and housing bubbles
Swiss National Bank working paper finds strong relationship between low short-term rates and housing bubbles; argues house prices can be controlled by following ‘Taylor rule’
National Bank of Serbia annual report reviews policy changes
Annual monetary policy report highlights shift in mid-2011 towards monetary easing in Serbia; says pressure from food prices caused inflation to repeatedly overshoot target in first half of year
SNB paper evaluates central bank communication strategies
Swiss National Bank working paper examines two communication strategies designed to reduce market overreaction to announcements
NBS paper measures impact of productivity differentials
National Bank of Serbia working paper studies effect of differing productivity growth between sectors and countries; finds impact on inflation and exchange rates
Draghi says closer union will achieve stability in Europe
Mario Draghi says quality of reforms and implementation ‘absolutely essential’; sets out vision of future union based on financial, fiscal, economic and political integration
Regional Fed presidents express fears over economic recovery
Charles Evans and Eric Rosengren warn about struggling economic recovery; focus on employment figures as key indicator of persistent problems in the US
ECB’s Asmussen stresses importance of central bank communication
ECB board member Jörg Asmussen underscores need for effective communication by central banks; says crisis has ‘shifted the goalposts’
McCafferty to replace Posen on BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee
UK Treasury names CBI economics adviser, Ian McCafferty, to replace Adam Posen on the Bank of England’s monetary policy board
Danish central bank acts to counter negative interest rate
National Bank of Denmark lowers certificates of deposit rate to -0.2%; raises banks' current account limits to help them keep funds away from negative rate
Hungarian central bank blasts government tax plan
National Bank of Hungary says government plans for financial transaction tax threatens central bank independence; levy is latest development in conflict between central bank and government
PBoC moves to bolster bank lending with asymmetric rates cut
Chinese central bank cuts interest rates and expands bank lending bands for the second time in a month to combat sluggish growth
Markets recoil as major central banks ease policies
Chinese, European and UK central banks take monetary policy action; moves leave no doubt about gloomy global economic picture as eurozone stock markets fail to rally
Slew of central banks hold rates amid economic uncertainty
Riksbank, National Bank of Poland, Reserve Bank of Australia and Central Bank of Colombia all keep policy rates unchanged; central banks offer mixed message on global economy
Sarb makes $60m loss due to costs of forex intervention
South African Reserve Bank suffers loss in fiscal year 2011/12 due to cost of forex activities; governor describes economic challenges in coming year as ‘daunting’
Fed paper analyses core inflation measurement
Working paper attempts to produce optimal gauge of core inflation by excluding items with high variance; finds new index outperforms current measures ex-post, but is no better ex-ante
IMF issues updates on German and US economies
International Monetary Fund notes Germany’s “remarkable” economic performance; warns US over “tepid” recovery
Fed paper evaluates impact of QE
Working paper examines data from first round of Federal Reserve’s asset purchase programme; finds both immediate and longer-run effect of purchases on yields
RBI paper examines monetary policy transmission
Working paper studies channels of monetary policy in India; finds main impact made via interest rates but also identifies credit and asset-price effects
New leadership for Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Monetary Council
Chairmanship of ECCB’s Monetary Council moves to St Kitts and Nevis member; rate-setters leave key rates alone after reviewing mixed economic data
Peru central bank paper models interbank lending
Working paper develops New Keynesian model including an interbank lending market to analyse dual effect of reserve requirements and interest rates
National Bank of Hungary predicts stagflation
Quarterly inflation report projects growth contraction in 2012; says inflation is likely to persist above target due to government tax increases
New Zealand central bank publishes statement of intent
Statement emphasises commitment to price stability as “primary goal”; highlights need to adapt to macroeconomic environment in setting monetary and macro-prudential policy