Monetary Policy
BoE's Posen continues crusade for SME credit
Posen laments decline of political interest in plans for credit easing for SMEs in the UK; reaffirms his drive to improve the provision of finance for smaller non-financial corporations
RBI's Subbarao highlights new ‘trilemma' facing central banks
Reserve Bank of India governor Duvvuri Subbarao says policy contribution of central banks to sustainable sovereign debt policies must be clarified to maintain independence
Bargaining power in Swiss repo market more pronounced during crisis, says SNB paper
Swiss National Bank study shows the central bank was able to negotiate a significantly higher price with banks for repurchase agreements during the financial turmoil
Colombia's Uribe explains why he is still raising rates
Central Bank of Colombia governor, José Darío Uribe, says rapid credit growth and inflation risks outweighed concerns about global economy; adds monetary tightening has worked elsewhere
Central Bank of Turkey predicts inflation target overshoot until 2013
Central Bank of Turkey says inflation will not return to 5.5% target until mid-2013; officials want to prevent "unfavorable fluctuations" in economic activity by acting too soon
NY Fed paper sheds light on causal determinants of inflation expectations
Federal Reserve Bank of New York study says consumers may be revising their inflation expectations in response to inaccurate information
FSB regional group discusses policy responses to eurozone crisis
Commonwealth of Independent States hold first regional FSB consultative group meeting; members including Russia and Ukraine discuss possible policy actions to counter eurozone crisis
BoE report captures impact of QE policy
Bank of England’s Asset Purchase Facility report shows government bond yields and market spreads eased as a result of the central bank’s stimulus measures
Central bankers gather in Davos for World Economic Forum
Central banking is a hot topic at this year's World Economic Forum; attendees of the event discuss issues in Russia, Poland, China and more
Sarb proposes further adjustments to open market operations
South African Reserve Bank wants to allocate amounts tendered by banks in repo auctions on a pro rata basis, to enhance efficiency of its monetary policy operations
Monetary policy can ease sovereign risk, says IMF paper
Fund study shows sovereign risk becomes a critical determinant of macroeconomic outcomes if the central bank is constrained in counteracting higher risk premiums
Core inflation is a poor forecaster of future price levels, says Brazilian research
Central Bank of Brazil study finds core inflation is a poor directional indicator for future headline inflation
Bernanke to give student lectures
Chairman of the Federal Reserve will deliver a series of lectures to university students in the US
Fed communication overhaul reveals split in rate forecasts
Federal Reserve survey of individual policy-makers’ interest rate expectations shows five-year split on when to make first federal funds rate rise; Fed falls short of inflation target
Bangladesh Bank calls on government to borrow less
Bangladesh central bank wants to bring inflation to single digits and halt foreign currency reserve “depletion”; hopes government borrowing will not “crowd out” available liquidity in banking system
BoE minutes show split over QE
Bank of England minutes show Monetary Policy Committee says further expansion of asset purchases is likely to be required, according to some members
Thailand blames floods and ‘likely’ eurozone recession for rate cut
Bank of Thailand drops benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3%; says recession now "likely" in the eurozone
King sees ‘no reason to despair’ over world economy
Governor of the Bank of England acknowledges ‘serious’ situation global economy is in, but says there is a way forward; despite fall in inflation the year ahead will not be easy, King says
RBI’s Subbarao says eurozone situation better than expected
Governor of the Reserve Bank of India says Indian corporates report better conditions in Europe than feared; central bank lowers cash reserve ratio for banks to ease liquidity situation
Wickman-Parak on limitations of unemployment gap in setting policy
Riksbank deputy governor Barbro Wickman-Parak says role of resource utilisation and unemployment gap in monetary policy decision-making should not be overstated
Fiscal stabilisation policy is redundant, says Bullard
St Louis Federal Reserve study says fiscal policy is ill-suited as a stabilisation policy and that monetary policy, even at the zero bound, is a more effective tool
Chilean president nominates economist to central bank board
Joaquin Vial Ruiz-Tagle put forward for seat on Central Bank of Chile board; government has final say
BoE reports challenging wholesale market conditions
Bank of England January Trends in Lending report shows longer-term wholesale funding markets in the UK are freezing up
IMF paper on optimal monetary policy frameworks under price distortions
Fund study shows sectoral inflation targeting and output gap stabilisation outperform strict headline inflation targeting in the presence of subsidised prices for goods