Monetary Policy
BoE’s Fisher sees longer horizon for asset purchases
MPC member Paul Fisher says Bank of England should consider switching to a more gradual pace of asset purchases over a longer period of time
Central bank independence: more myth than reality?
Crisis responses are placing a heavy burden on many central banks. But there is no evidence showing that legally independent central banks have a better track record in monetary policy
BoE’s Tucker urges careful consideration of negative interest rates
Paul Tucker encourages MPC discussion of alternative accommodative measures; expects existing QE to gain more traction as eurozone recovers
Atlanta Fed president sees dangers in chasing vague labour market target
Dennis Lockhart says policy-makers should balance considerations of longer-term costs when targeting 'substantial improvement' in labour market outlook
Fed’s Powell and Rosengren hit back at ‘fiscal crunch’ research paper
Research suggests Fed is constrained by precarious US finances, but Fed governor and president offer alternative conclusions
South Africa governor outlines ‘upside' inflation risks
Sarb governor expects inflation to breach target range but immediately return; explains decision to hold rates
BoE MPC member makes case for more stimulus
David Miles presents model that suggests monetary policy is probably still too tight in the UK; says more QE would be one way to address this, but other easing strategies could also work
NY Fed plans test run of small-firm open market operations
Fed prepares pilot programme to allow five smaller firms to act as counterparties in open market operations for a year, with the possibility of making the scheme permanent thereafter
FOMC members 'undecided' over further asset purchases
Federal Open Market Committee displays more uncertainty over when to halt asset purchase programme; wary of buying more securities but scared of ending purchases too soon
New Zealand Reserve Bank 'prepared to intervene' in FX markets - governor
Graeme Wheeler says currency is over-valued, and investors should know that the Kiwi is 'not a one-way bet'
UK statistics office explains QE impact on national debt
ONS attempts to clarify accounting practices used in transferring cash reserves from Bank of England’s quantitative easing programme to the Treasury
BoE minutes signal ‘shift in remit' to support economic growth
Minutes reveal governor Mervyn King sided with expanding QE, leading analysts to speculate that inflation is no longer a target
Eurozone ‘funding for lending scheme' gains favour
ABN Amro says a eurozone FLS would be ‘the most practical way of dealing with the credit constraints of SMEs'; Sony Kapoor says ECB would be ‘irresponsible' to ignore it
BoJ board divided ahead of new governor appointment
Minutes detail arguments made by two policy board members who opposed move to 2% target, and why they were overruled; Shinzo Abe hints Bank of Japan could lose independence if target is not hit
Bundesbank’s Dombret warns low interest rates are not 'suitable therapy'
Executive board member Andreas Dombret says exit from low interest rate environment must take place at ‘right time’; expounds damage it causes to savers
Bank of Finland paper urges QE use outside crises
Analysis based on DSGE model finds asset purchases are a useful monetary policy tool in all states of the economy, but should be co-ordinated with conventional interest rate policy
Ukrainian deputy director says economy is ‘enjoying’ deflation
Oleksandr Arseniuk says ‘low inflation environment’ – with CPI at -0.2% in January – is benefiting the Ukrainian economy
RBA minutes warn growth may wobble in 2013
Minutes suggest economy is struggling to rebalance away from mining as peak in resource investment approaches, but low inflation gives room for further rate cuts
BoE’s Weale warns of burgeoning inflation risk due to weak pound
Monetary Policy Committee member says further depreciation of the pound could push inflation further from its target, but the Bank of England might just have to weather the storm
European recovery stalls as UK politicians warn of complacency
Latest GDP figures reveal eurozone economy contracted by 0.5% in 2012; OECD calls for wider and stronger reform efforts
Bullard slams Fed’s 2012 policy
St Louis Fed president criticises ‘relatively weak’ Federal Reserve policy in 2012, but says new measures have now stepped easing up a gear
Serbian director hints at possible easing in coming months
Head of National Bank of Serbia’s research department sees inflationary pressure easing and the Serbian economy returning to growth; says this may prompt cuts in the near future
Japan holds rates as GDP drop leaves analysts unfazed
Bank of Japan to continue 'aggressive easing' as long as it judges it appropriate; analysts remain bullish despite fall in GDP last quarter
Fed paper examines costs of trend inflation variance
Study finds an increase in the volatility of trend inflation imposes a modest welfare cost on the economy