Central Banks
St. Louis Fed paper considers impact of trade shocks on labour market
Working paper examines effects of trade shocks on labour markets, finding the increase in import competition from China after 2000 actually boosted aggregate US welfare
Hong Kong 'coin carts' rake in cash
Hong Kong Monetary Authority trucks will collect coins from the public; so far, 87,000 people have traded in 78 million coins worth HK$77 million
IMF paper finds no link between efficiency and Basel compliance
Banks in jurisdictions that have adopted Basel ‘Core Principles’ for supervision are no more efficient than their peers elsewhere, working paper finds
‘Climate of greater optimism’ prevails in Spain
Financial stability report identifies many signs the economy has turned a corner and financial markets are beginning to recover, although credit to the private sector continues to fall
Riksbank paper warns forecasts often overestimate inflation
Forecasting error has grown in recent years and tends to overstate inflation, paper says, even as first deputy governor says expansionary policy has contributed to rising inflation
European Commission looks to unshackle big data
In its quest to create a digital single market the commission plans to tackle restrictions on the free movement of data; champions transition to ‘open science’
Atlanta Fed president focused on consumer spending
Dennis Lockhart says evidence of an increase in consumer spending would give him more confidence that growth is back on track in the United States
Opposition from big banks to RBA interchange fee curb
Large commercial banks and payments providers warn of damaging impact of regulating interchange fees, but smaller challenger payment systems are broadly in favour
Currency shifts could create ‘dilemma’ for Asian economies
IMF regional economic outlook warns policy-makers could face an ‘uncomfortable trade-off’ between external competitiveness and financial stability
EU risks have intensified, supervisory authorities warn
Risks have worsened since mid-2014, European supervisory authorities say; report recommends including costs arising from misconduct sanctions in future stress tests
Yellen says stability risks ‘not elevated’
Fed chair tells Christine Lagarde she does not see ‘the precursors of a financial crisis’, but singles out high stock valuations as a ‘potential danger’
IMF paper studies interest rate spreads in Pacific Island countries
Economic size, inflation, the quality of bank balance sheets and banking sector concentration influence interest rate spreads in Pacific Island countries, finds working paper
Lift-off for ASX Aussie dollar swap clearing business
Volumes jump in the first three months of the year following revamp of Sydney bourse's clearing incentive scheme
Legal assistance cost Bank of Portugal €2 million in 2014
Bank of Portugal reveals €2 million cost of legal assistance with its intervention in BES, an act it describes as ‘an unprecedented effort to safeguard financial stability’
Ingves draws lessons from Sweden’s economic history
Riksbank governor emphasises the close link between financial stability and monetary policy, while promising to take further action ‘with force’ if necessary
Deeper markets in WAEMU could boost policy transmission
Research published by the IMF finds the transmission of monetary policy is impeded by ‘shallow’ financial markets in the West African Economic and Monetary Union
Gieve: BoE rate hike likely to hinge on election outcome
Former deputy governor John Gieve says victor in May 7 poll will impact BoE’s tightening decision; panellists warn of high uncertainty as no party likely to win outright majority
NBER paper challenges Rey’s monetary policy dilemma
Authors find evidence to support the continued existence of a traditional monetary policy trilemma, casting doubt on Hélène Rey’s theory that the trilemma has broken down
SNB posts record loss in first quarter
Reported total loss is around $32 billion after strong franc weighs on value of central bank's euro reserves
Thailand relaxes capital controls
Bank of Thailand announces measures to make it easier for residents to invest abroad and for foreigners to trade bahts
RBA paper finds high social cost to counterfeiting
Researchers try to put a figure on how much counterfeit banknotes cost the economy; Australian economy suffers from lower counterfeiting than elsewhere
Bundesbank’s Dombret wants more ‘proportional’ supervisory teams
Executive board member says the joint supervisory teams in Europe should be proportionate to the size and significance of the banks they supervise
BIS paper analyses carry trades in Latin America
BIS working paper analyses currency carry trades in Latin America, the attractiveness and visibility of which have suffered in part due to regulatory changes
San Fran Fed research analyses link between inflation targeting and growth
In an economic letter, two researchers find developing economies tend not to experience the same short-term bump in growth rates as advanced economies after adopting a target