Monetary Policy
Price target will settle expectations: Bernanke
The Federal Reserve's ushering in of an implicit inflation target should lead to more stable price expectations, the head of the central bank has said.
Transparency: too much of a good thing?
Too much monetary policy transparency can be bad, finds a new paper from the Bank of Japan.
CNB's Tuma not keen on bursting bubbles
Whether monetary policy to react to changes in asset prices still remains questionable, said Zdenek Tuma, the governor of the Czech National Bank.
How worried should we be about deflation?
Dean Baker argues that fears over deflation have been greatly exaggerated. Policymakers should rather focus on reducing risk premia
Interview: Kenneth Rogoff
The former chief economist of the IMF tells Malan Rietveld that central banks know how to generate inflation if needed and that there are bigger problems than deflation to be worried about
Fed gloomy on 2009, more bullish on 2010 and 2011
The Federal Reserve has reduced its forecast for economic growth this year, but has upgraded its projection for 2010 and 2011.
RBA explains February cut
Significantly lower forecast for domestic output growth than expected was behind the Reserve Bank of Australia's cut in the cash rate by 100 basis points to 3.25%, according to minutes of the February meeting.
Riksbank's Svensson solves liquidity-trap problem
Lars Svensson, the deputy governor of the Sveriges Riksbank, has devised what he has labelled a "foolproof way" to escape a liquidity trap.
Bank's MPC wants money levers to hit target
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has unanimously called for the use of tools to boost the money supply to meet its inflation target, minutes of its latest rate vote reveal.
Korea's target hits its aims
By having an explicit inflation target, the Bank of Korea is taking the optimum route to price stability, posits a new paper from the European Central Bank.
What moves the yield curve?
The monetary policy response to the inflation gap impacts the yield curve, says a new research form the Kansas City Federal Reserve.
Israel looks to boost economy with bond purchases
The Bank of Israel began buying government bonds on Tuesday in an attempt to pump more money into the economy.
Japan's finance minister resigns, forgets BoJ rate
Shoichi Nakagawa, Japan's finance minister, has stepped down after opposition lawmakers accused him of being drunk at a press conference at which he wrongly stated that the Bank of Japan had set a benchmark target range of between 0% and 0.2%.
UK inflation stays in letter-writing territory
British CPI inflation edged down in January but less so than analysts' expected. However, RPI inflation slid sharply to a near 49-year low as mortgage costs plunged on the back of the Bank of England's rate cuts.
Leaning against the wind talk hot air: BoE's Bean
Charlie Bean, the deputy governor responsible for the Bank of England's monetary policy, has rejected claims that countering asset-price bubbles with rate hikes would have tempered the worst of the financial excess that triggered the credit crisis.
Fed rate board to get more time to talk
The Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) policy meetings for the rest of 2009 will take place over two days to allow more time to discuss the ills of the US economy.
Chile slashes rates to 4.75%
The Central Bank of Chile confounded market expectations by reducing the cost of borrowing by a full two-and-half- percentage points on Thursday.
Egypt sees first cut for nearly three years
The Central Bank of Egypt cut interest rates for the first time since April 2006 on Thursday.
Riksbank explains sharp adjustment
With this note, the Swedish central bank explains why its recent interest rate cuts have taken rates lower than the level contained in its December forecast.
Sri Lanka lowers rates as inflation falls
Sri Lanka's policymaking Monetary Board cut rates at its regular monthly meeting this week as figures showed inflation had moved into a rapid decline.
Korea cuts again
The Bank of Korea has slashed interest rates for the sixth time in four months, bringing the cost of borrowing to a record low of 2% and suggesting that further cuts could be in store.
"Leaning against the wind" to rise - Stevens
Glenn Stevens, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, expects the view that monetary policy should "lean against the wind" when asset prices are rising will gain in followers in the aftermath of the current market turmoil.
Mexico's Ortiz: crisis demanded FX strategy shift
The Bank of Mexico had to directly intervene in foreign-exchange markets for the first time for more than a decade earlier this month because of the severity of the impact of the crisis on currency trading, Guillermo Ortiz, the governor of the Bank of…
Zim's Gono turns on rand anchor
The governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Gideon Gono, has been quoted as welcoming the idea of pegging the country currency to South Africa's rand.