Monetary Policy
RBNZ holds OCR unchanged at 7.25 per cent
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced on Thursday 26 January that the Official Cash Rate (OCR) will remain unchanged at 7.25 per cent.
Comment: The Old Lady's new deputy
The Bank of England's new deputy governor for financial stability, Sir John Gieve, appeared yesterday before the Treasury Committee of the House of Commons for his appointment hearing.
Bank of England voted 8-1 to hold rates
Minutes of the Bank of England's last Monetary Policy Committee meeting, released Wednesday 25 January, showed that only dovish Stephen Nickell wanted to lower UK interest rates a quarter-point.
BOJ minutes show reluctance for price target
According to minutes from the Bank of Japan board's December meeting released on Wednesday 25 January, some members of the BOJ's policy board felt it would be hard to set a desirable rate of inflation.
Bank of Canada raises interest rates 0.25%
The Bank of Canada announced on Tuesday 24 January that it is raising its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 3 1/2 per cent. In a statement the bank said the move was necessary to keep inflation on target over the…
Paper says freer yuan would help monetary policy
The People's Bank of China would gain greater control over the country's money supply if it allowed more flexibility for the yuan, a semi-official think-tank said in a report published Monday 23 January.
Comment: Riksbank to turn the tide
Incoming Riksbank governor, Stefan Ingves, faces a challenge that few, if any, central bank governors have yet had to confront: making the case for a rate hike at a time when inflation is still below the inflation-targetting central bank's tolerance…
Kennedy on Canada's monetary policy framework
In the speech 'Canada's monetary policy framework: Dealing with global economic change' given on 12 January Sheryl Kennedy of the Bank of Canada said the effects of rising energy prices are still working through the Canadian economy, as are other factors…
NY Fed's Geithner on U.S. monetary policy
In the speech 'Some perspectives on U.S. monetary policy' given on 11 January Timothy Geithner of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said the rise and fall of asset prices such as stocks, bonds and homes will probably play a bigger role in setting U.S…
Latin American monetary policy reform in the 90's
The Central Bank of Chile Working Paper "The 1990's institutional reform of monetary policy in Latin America," published December 2005, takes stock of the institutional reform of monetary policy in Latin America since the early 1990s.
Fed's Fisher: Globalization impact on mon. policy
In the speech 'Coping with globalization's impact on monetary policy' given on 6 January Richard Fisher of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reiterated his vow to keep inflation contained, and offered again his concerns about the budget deficits the…
Fed's Hoenig on the national economy & mon. policy
In the speech 'The national economy and monetary policy in the new year' given on 9 January Thomas Hoenig of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said the U.S. central bank has pushed interest rates into the lower end of a "neutral" range and where…
USAID works to strengthen Central Bank of Iraq
This article published on Monday 19 December reports on technical assistance being provided to assist capacity building and institutional strengthening at the Central Bank of Iraq. Historically the CBI has found it difficult to implement monetary policy,…
Fed raises rates, tweaks statement
The Federal Open Market Committee decided on Tuesday 13 December to raise its target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 4-1/4 percent. In its statement the FOMC removed the term 'policy accommondation' but suggested rates could rise further…
Comment: Fed signals end to rate cycle
The Fed this week increased interest rates by 25 basis points for the 13th consecutive time. While the move itself was a foregone conclusion, the removal of the word "accommodative" from the accompanying monetary policy statement, indicates that the…
Word junkies get ready for a fix from the Fed
According to this article published on Monday 12 December, while there is little doubt the Fed will raise the funds rate by another 25 basis points to 4.25 percent on Tuesday, the main issue is the language of the statement.
Fed may remove 'accommodation' phrase
The Federal Reserve may say monetary policy is no longer stimulating the economy after it is expected to raise interest rates Tuesday 13 December for the 13th time, according to over half of Wall Street's largest bond trading firms surveyed by Bloomberg.
RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement, December 2005
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand published its December 2005 Monetary Policy Statement on 8 December. It also announced that the OCR will increase by 25 basis points to 7.25 per cent. The report said the RBNZ remains concerned about the tightness of…
Bank of Canada raises interest rates
The Bank of Canada announced on Tuesday 6 December that it is raising its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 3 1/4 per cent. In a press release the bank suggested rates would rise further saying, "some further…
Turkey to begin inflation targeting
Turkey plans to adopt formal inflation targeting in 2006, according to central bank governor Sureyya Serdengecti.
Comment: Turkey to target
Governor Sureyya Serdengecti's announcement on Monday 5 December that the Central Bank of Turkey will adopt formal inflation targets from January 2006 marks another step along the road of monetary policy reform that has seen Turkey shrug off its volatile…
How should central banks communicate?
This European Central Bank Working Paper published on 25 November shows that central bank communication is a key determinant of the market's ability to anticipate monetary policy decisions and the future path of interest rates.
Sweden's Persson - speech on monetary policy
In the speech 'Monetary policy yesterday, today and tomorrow' given on 9 November Kristina Persson of the Sveriges Riksbank said the economic outlook in Sweden is favourable, but that she finds the international picture and its effects on Sweden worrying.
ECB's Issing on mortgage markets & monetary policy
In the speech 'Mortgage markets and monetary policy: a central banker's view' given on 23 November Otmar Issing of the ECB said the ECB will be able to avoid sharp rises in interest rates if markets have faith in its ability to keep inflation under…