Monetary Policy
BoJ's Fukui expects gradual rate hikes
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui told lawmakers Friday 23 February that he is "open" to options of further rate hikes.
Iceland's Fridriksson on monetary policy
In the speech 'Monetary policy and its implementation' given on 20 February Ingimundur Fridriksson of the Central Bank of Iceland said the central bank has already stated its view that adopting the euro would be imprudent except by joining the EU.
FOMC members upbeat on economic outlook
Federal Reserve officials at their January meeting shrugged off past concerns and said the outlook for growth and inflation was looking positive, according to minutes of the meeting released Wednesday 21 February.
Bank of Japan to keep 'accommodative' policy
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui said Wednesday 21 February it will maintain its "accommodative" monetary policy for some time, after voting to raise interest rates.
Minutes show 7-2 split on BoE rate vote
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted by a 7-to-2 margin to keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 5.25 pct at its meeting earlier this month, minutes showed Wednesday 21 February.
SNB's Roth says rates not high enough yet
Swiss National Bank (SNB) chairman Jean-Pierre Roth said in an interview published Wednesday 21 February that Switzerland's current interest rate level is still not high enough to guarantee price stability in the medium-term.
Omi says BoJ should support growth
Japanese finance minister Koji Omi told parliament on Tuesday 20 February that the Bank of Japan's monetary policy should support economic growth, as it prepares to start a two- day meeting to decide interest rates.
Sveriges Riksbank Monetary Policy Report, No. 1 07
Sweden's central bank, the Sveriges Riksbank, published its First Monetary Policy Report for 2007 on 15 February. According to the report, formerly known as the Inflation Report, inflation is currently low, as is the rate of wage increase and cost…
Fed's Poole says no reason to change rates now
St Louis Federal Reserve president William Poole said on Thursday 15 February that there was no reason at the moment for the U.S. central bank to change interest rates.
ECB paper on market responses to policy decisions
The ECB Working Paper "Using intraday data to gauge financial market responses to Fed and ECB monetary policy decisions" examines bond and stock market volatility reactions in the euro area and the US following their respective economies' monetary policy…
Bernanke on the semiannual monetary policy report
In testimony to Congress given on 14 February Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said the Fed was still debating how to improve its communication skills, and insisted that there was yet room for improvement.
Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Report, Feb 2007
The Federal Reserve published its February 2007 Monetary Policy Report to the Congress on Wednesday 14 February. Ben Bernanke told Congress that the US economy should grow modestly this year and he maintained the Fed's forecast that inflation will…
RBA's Battellino appointed deputy governor
The Australian government appointed Ric Battellino as deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia on Wednesday 14 February for a five-year term.
BoC sees room to improve central bank committees
This article from Reuters, published Monday 12 February, looks at the recent paper "Monetary Policy Committees in Action: Is There Room for Improvement?" noting that central banks have shifted away from the "dictatorial" governor as decision maker, in…
Bank signals one more rate rise for 2007
The Bank of England implied on Wednesday 14 February that interest rates will be raised one more time in 2007, to 5.5%.
PBOC official says current rates 'appropriate'
The current level of Chinese interest rates is "still appropriate" given economic and financial indicators, a senior People's Bank of China official said in an interview published Tuesday 13 February.
Mexican central banker sees no need for rate hike
A vice-governor of Mexico's central bank wrote in an article Monday 12 February Mexican food price hikes have not pushed up inflation expectations enough to merit an interest rate hike.
RBA Statement on Monetary Policy, February 2007
The Reserve Bank of Australia published its February 2007 Statement on Monetary Policy on 12 February. In the report the RBA cut its inflation forecast for 2007, saying three interest-rate increases last year may have contained price pressures.
Canada paper on monetary policy committees
The Bank of Canada Working Paper "Monetary policy committees in action: Is there room for improvement?" reviews economic, experimental, sociological and psychological studies to identify criteria for the optimal institutional setting of a central bank…
Gono hits bull's eye
This article from the Financial Gazette, published Thursday 8 February, says the heated debate rages on after Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono refused to budge an inch on devaluation.
Mishkin - the new face at the board of Governors
Malam Rietveld spoke with the newest governor of the Federal Reserve Board in Washington about the parallels between his academic work and policymaking
Interview: Edmund Phelps
The Nobel Laureate in conversation with Malan Rietveld
Nightmares of a central banker
According to this article published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute on Tuesday 6 February, the record of modern central banking is bleak, with monetary policy failing again and again.