Monetary Policy
Australia’s Debelle defends rate cuts
RBA assistant governor says central bank’s rate cuts will have an effect; argues housing market is stronger than many critics believe
King laments growing problems in global economy
BoE governor says worsening situation in emerging economies, slowing US growth and continued eurozone trouble leave him “pessimistic”; Treasury Committee member confronts MPC over decision-making
Iceland central bank governor discusses policy challenges
Már Guðmundsson reflects on difficulties that remain in removing capital controls and tackling high inflation; suggests that others could learn from the Icelandic model
Caruana says central bank credibility ‘must not be squandered’
BIS secretary general says reliance on central banks to provide extraordinary monetary policy to prop up the financial system is causing dangerous distortions; credibility may be ‘squandered’
Brazil and China agree currency swap and deepen cooperation
Central Bank of Brazil announces agreement with China Banking Regulatory Commission to enhance exchange of information; governments agree to currency swap
Czech National Bank paper studies changing inflation dynamics
Working paper examines causes of changing inflation dynamics in central Europe; finds inflation expectations play a 'substantial role' in price stability
BoE’s Weale discusses monetary policy challenges
Martin Weale paints bleak picture of the global economy; says new Bank of England schemes should help to support the recovery
Hungary proposes amendments to troublesome central bank law
Hungarian government puts forward amendments to widely criticised central bank law; discussions with concerned international bodies including the ECB and IMF are 'ongoing'
Bernanke says Fed ready for QE3 if necessary
Fed chairman explains FOMC decision to maintain rates and extend Operation Twist; says Fed is ready to make more asset purchases if necessary
Reserve Bank of India's governor defends policy stance
Duvvuri Subbarao responds to critics of the RBI’s tight monetary policy; says central bank’s actions are justified despite supply shocks and slowing growth
Fed extends Operation Twist to end of 2012
Federal Open Market Committee to continue programme to lengthen average maturity of its holdings of securities; target range for federal funds rate maintained at 0-0.25%
BoE minutes show dovish shift
Minutes from Bank of England monetary policy committee’s latest meeting reveal governor Mervyn King voted for an increase to the asset purchase programme in the UK; lost out in narrow vote
UK inflation unexpectedly drops again
Office for National Statistics reveals CPI annual inflation fell this month; leads to renewed QE expectations and predictions of on-target inflation figure by the end of the year
Romanian governor examines monetary policy transitions
Mugur Isărescu considers changes to Romanian monetary policy in response to changing economic environment; says policy requires an understanding of theory but must be grounded in economic reality
New Zealand’s McDermott emphasises inflation targeting success
Reserve Bank of New Zealand assistant governor highlights success of central bank’s inflation targeting policy; says there is still room for improvement
Robert Pringle's Viewpoint: Fatal flaws in inflation targeting
Central bankers face a ‘lose-lose situation’ by accepting dual price and financial stability mandates when even their ability to achieve price stability via inflation targeting is in question
RBI holds rates fearing impact of further QE abroad
Reserve Bank of India says another round of quantitative easing in advanced countries would have an adverse impact on growth and inflation; keeps rates on hold in anticipation
UK credit and liquidity schemes met with uncertainty
BoE and government announce plans to improve credit and liquidity picture in UK; banks’ shares rise but questions remain on effectiveness of plans
Japan paying ‘particular attention’ to Europe but holds rates
Bank of Japan watching situation in Europe closely; keeps monetary policy steady ahead of key developments in the region
Draghi defends sovereignty in an economic union
President of the European Central Bank discusses future of economic union in the eurozone; hints at more stimulus
Bank of Canada paper compares price-level and inflation targets
Working paper considers effect of global commodity price shocks on choice of monetary policy regime; finds important impact of energy supply and demand
UK plans joint BoE-government funding scheme
Mervyn King announces 'funding for lending' scheme for banks; stresses full support from government is necessary
Bank of Korea governor on adaptation to global environment
Choongsoo Kim delivers speech arguing that central bank must adapt to global economic environment; highlights importance of growing policy interdependence
Sarb governor discusses response to economic risks
Gill Marcus examines economic risks facing South African economy; says employment target should not be included in bank’s mandate