Monetary Policy
San Francisco Fed research examines easing impact of Swiss reserves expansion
SNB asset purchases focused on short maturities still pushed down longer maturity yields, researchers find, which they say holds lessons for eurozone QE
Negative deposit rate ‘turbocharges’ QE, economists say
Former ECB board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi says negative rate ‘creates a multiplier effect’ that boosts impact of QE, a view shared by other panellists at Frankfurt conference
Weidmann warns Greek ELA could raise ‘serious monetary financing concerns’
Bundesbank president says the ongoing provision of emergency funds to Greek banks will be a problem if the cash is used to buy sovereign debt
IMF paper: Indian monetary policy transmission is improving
Working paper examines credit channel of monetary policy in India, finding ‘significant, albeit slow’ transmission to the real economy and a gradual improvement over the past few years
BoE’s Cunliffe sees more efficient UK firms in coming years
Deputy governor justifies MPC forecast that productivity growth will finally pick up in 2016 and 2017, pointing to the potential for efficiency gains within firms as the economy grows
NBER paper seeks better model of trend inflation
James Stock and Mark Watson use disaggregated data on sectoral inflation with time-varying weights, finding this can produce a more accurate model of inflation’s long-term trend
Bank of Thailand cuts forecasts for growth and inflation
Monetary policy report says risks are ‘skewed to the downside’ as central bank lowers its forecasts; MPC was divided over further easing at April meeting
Bank of Japan to shake up meeting framework
BoJ board plans to cut number of yearly meetings as part of major overhaul of deliberations aimed at making monetary policy more transparent
Bank Indonesia appoints deputy following rates hold
Head of financial surveillance Erwin Riyanto replaces Halim Alamsyah on board of governors as central bank warns of renewed capital flight
Yellen argues Fed is among most transparent central banks
Fed chair Janet Yellen questions why additional legislation on transparency is necessary; new bill would force Fed to report in greater detail and more frequently to US Congress
BoE report details ‘innovative’ liquidity insurance tool
Indexed long-term repos were introduced as part of liquidity facility upgrades after the global financial crisis, and are designed to automatically adjust to stress
Eurozone recovery set to broaden, says ECB bulletin
Report presents growing body of good news for most eurozone economies as wages and consumption rise, inflation bottoms out and investment begins to return
Norway moves policy tools in opposite directions
Norges Bank cuts rates to tackle economic slowdown but government imposes higher countercyclical capital buffer as financial stability indicators show signs of danger
Fed officials still back 2015 rate hike
Median of latest projections suggests federal funds rate will reach 0.625% by the end of the year; FOMC delivers more upbeat assessment as its keeps policy unchanged
Jordan: SNB does not expect ‘sustained’ price drop
Thomas Jordan says the Swiss central bank does not expect a deflationary spiral as inflation will return to ‘positive territory’ early in 2017
Nabiullina: Bringing down inflation still Bank of Russia’s main concern
Central bank governor tells parliament that inflation is still the ‘priority task’ despite announcing plans to rebuild forex reserves earlier in the month
PBoC top committee brings in seven fresh faces
China's central bank reshuffles top committee for second time this year, bringing in heavy-hitters from government and academia
RBA minutes note mixed signals for policy
Slight slowdown globally and nervousness over Greece and US rates offset by ‘solid’ lending growth, stronger employment and improved sentiment
EU court rules OMTs are legal
ECB is vindicated as ECJ rules in favour of crisis measure that would see the central bank buy potentially unlimited amounts of sovereign debt to protect ‘singleness’ of monetary policy
Bank of Israel launches journalist briefings as part of transparency drive
Central bank begins quarterly briefings of journalists and adds new publications as part of ongoing efforts to improve communications; follows consultations with other central banks
RBA’s Kent says transmission mechanism seems to be weathering shocks
‘Headwinds’ are working against the Australian economy but the evidence implies the monetary transmission mechanism ‘is about as effective as usual’, assistant governor says
Draghi defends ‘distributional consequences’ of QE
ECB president suggests easy monetary policy will benefit all citizens in the longer run; economists describe impact on inequality as “ambiguous” in research prepared for Econ Committee
Bank of Russia cuts key rate and moves to replenish foreign exchange reserves
Central bank continues easing cycle with 100bp cut, while stronger ruble gives room to replenish reserves
Governor wants freer thinking at 65-year-old Bank of Korea
Juyeol Lee hints at coming shake-up, calling for openness to ‘creative ideas’ as central bank prepares to set new inflation target