Financial Stability
Fed reveals Maiden Lane assets
In a bid to enhance transparency, and in doing so appease anger on the Hill, the Federal Reserve on Thursday released information about the assets it holds of American International Group (AIG), the beleaguered insurer, and Bear Stearns, a now-defunct…
Fed's Hoenig: no firm is too big to fail
Thomas Hoenig, the president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve, has said that no firm is too big to fail.
Japan's Shirakawa: macroprudential view crucial
It is becoming increasingly important for policymakers to sharpen macroprudential perspectives, said Massaki Shirakawa, the governor of the Bank of Japan.
PBOC - China Payment System Development Report
Payment services tended to be diversified and increasingly market-oriented in 2007, notes the latest China Payment System Development Report from the People's Bank of China.
Markets bought Paulson "teaser freezer" plan
Research from the Richmond Federal Reserve shows that investors were initially optimistic that former US Treasury secretary Hank Paulson's so-called "teaser freezer" plan would improve economic conditions.
Denmark's Bernstein admits options running out
Nils Bernstein, the governor of the National Bank of Denmark, has acknowledged that the central bank is running out of room to manoeuvre.
Bernanke, Paulson forced Merill deal: BoA chief
Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Hank Paulson, a former US treasury secretary, have been accused of pressurising Bank of America to go ahead with their takeover of investment bank Merrill Lynch after they attempted to back out of…
No link between loan constraints and productivity
Financial constraints do not lower productivity in most sectors of the economy, research from the International Monetary Fund suggests.
Toxic assets must be removed: RBA's Stevens
Siphoning the toxic assets that plague banks' balance sheets is the first step in overcoming the current crisis, Glenn Stevens, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, has said.
European housing finance more resilient
Housing-finance markets in the euro area are more resilient to shocks their British and American counterparts, new research from the European Central Bank posits.
Albania's Ibrahimi: euro liquidity crucial
It is important that a reasonable flow of euros from banking groups' headquarters to their foreign subsidiaries is maintained, said Fatos Ibrahimi, the first deputy governor of the Bank of Albania.
A new method for evaluating risk aversion
Researchers from the European Central Bank have uncovered a new method of extracting time-varying risk aversion from asset prices.
Risk management to include parameter uncertainty
Risk-management systems should account for parameter uncertainty, a new paper from the Bank for International Settlements posits.
G20 working group: development banks must lend now
Multilateral development banks and other international financial institutions should step up their counter-cyclical efforts to offset capital flight from emerging markets, says a report from a working group prepared for the G20 London summit.
Tokyo seeks meeting with Shirakawa on economy woe
A senior Japanese politician has called for a meeting with Masaaki Shirakawa, the governor of Bank of Japan, apparently to ask the central bank to do more to abate the economic downturn.
Fed planning communication enhancements: reports
The Federal Reserve looks set to bow to political pressure and disclose more details of its various attempts to tackle the crisis, which have led to the central bank's balance sheet more than doubling in size.
US working on stress-test disclosure: report
Washington is working on proposals to disclose the results of its stress tests on the 19 biggest American banks, say reports.
Bernanke sees shoots of recovery
There are tentative signs that the sharp decline in economic activity may be slowing, said Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
SA's Mminele on Southern Africa's goals
The Southern African Development Community's goal is to achieve a single currency and a regional central bank by 2018, said Daniel Mminele, an executive general manager of the South African Reserve Bank.
Blame technology for bankruptcies
Technological progress has a significant effect on the bankruptcy rate, a new paper from the Richmond Federal Reserve posits.
Poland seeks $20.5 billion IMF credit line
Poland on Tuesday became the second country to ask for access to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) new credit lines, requesting $20.5 billion to buttress the country against the crisis.
Tarp to get new head, Goldman to repay funds
Reports emerged on Tuesday that the head of Fannie Mae would replace Bush-administration appointee Neel Kashkari as the overseer of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp). The news came after Goldman Sachs announced on Monday a $5 billion public…
Iceland's Oygard optimistic on recovery
Svein Oygard, the new governor of the Central Bank of Iceland, is confident that the country can become an exemplar of how to conduct a swift economic recovery.
Monies contain embedded options
The face values of all notes and coins contain embedded options, argues a new paper written by Espen Gaarder Haug and John Stevenson, two quantitative-finance analysts.