Monetary Policy
Unorthodox monetary policy would not suit Hungary, says paper
Research finds that unconventional central bank instruments have successfully eased market conditions in developed countries, but would have little impact in Hungary
Hungarian governor publishes open letter in spat with audit office
András Simor publishes letter after state audit office 'transgresses its authority' in a study into monetary policy
King insists economy must rebalance
Governor says Bank of England can still contribute to recovery but is running up an ‘ever steeper hill’; inflation report downbeat on growth and inflation prospects
Philadelphia Fed president wants forward guidance in ‘normal times’
Charles Plosser says helping the public understand how the Fed sets policy in normal times will make forward guidance at the zero lower bound more effective
Yellen says forward guidance is ‘good news for workers’
Fed vice-chair says unemployment is predominantly cyclical and can be allayed by increasing aggregate demand; forward guidance will help Fed boost demand without compromising price stability
Small economies' central bankers must be ‘exceptionally smart to succeed', says CNB
Small economies are 'event-takers' says Czech executive director, often dependent on external conditions set by economic policies of advanced economies
Buba’s Weidmann concerned by central bank politicisation
Bundesbank president says euro is not overvalued; finds Stiglitz comments on central bank independence 'concerning'
National Bank of Romania struggles to keep inflation on target
Romanian inflation remains outside target band despite negative output gap, with blame pointing to energy market developments among other factors
Polish paper extolls benefits of probability forecasts
Research finds forecasting technique that seeks to quantify the uncertainty surrounding economists’ predictions has ‘rich interpretation possibilities’
Stein says Fed could deploy monetary policy to cool credit markets
Jeremy Stein says imperfect regulatory tools may require monetary and macro-prudential policies to work in tandem if credit markets overheat, but spotting trouble is not straightforward
Norwegian paper suggests alternative to ‘conclusion-based’ interest rate decisions
Research examines the stories behind interest rate decisions; reveals benefits to voting on contributing elements as opposed to final level
ECB's Cœuré argues integrating SSM in ECB has benefits for monetary policy
Executive board member sees benefits to monetary policy in bringing supervisory mechanism into the ECB
Czech researchers examine factors behind monetary transmission lags
Working paper synthesises 67 quantitative studies of lags in monetary policy transmission, finding that financial development increases lags, but results may be biased by study design
Carney champions flexible inflation target
Bank of England’s governor-designate welcomes debate on monetary policy framework but says he strongly favours flexible inflation targeting
Draghi says markets should have final say on currency strength
ECB president re-affirms the central bank's independence; emphasises ‘accommodative' monetary policy, as governing council votes to hold rates again
UK’s Adair Turner advocates stimulus by ‘helicopter money’
Chairman of the UK’s Financial Services Authority says there are circumstances where monetary financing of government deficits is justified, calling for more serious discussion of the topic
New York Fed paper warns of negative welfare effects of capital controls
Staff report finds significant gains available from international policy coordination, and that interventions in the international flow of capital can hit global and individual welfare
IMF working paper calls for consistency in East African monetary policy
Study into monetary transmission mechanism in the East African Community finds policy tools often used in a contradictory manner
Colombian paper finds flaws in inflation forecasting
Research by the Central Bank of Colombia says many central banks have scope to improve the accuracy of their inflation forecasts
Poland cuts rates again as CEE states fight stagflation
National Bank of Poland cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points for the fourth successive meeting; most central banks hold in face of steady inflation
BoJ board member says 2% target is not sustainable
Takehiro Sato explains his vote against Bank of Japan’s inflation target change, and says central bank will not intervene to depress the value of the yen – but the government might
Bank of Israel likely to hold rates throughout 2013
Staff at Israeli central bank forecast steady growth and inflation over next year; say benchmark interest rate would remain unchanged
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: Assessing Masaaki Shirakawa’s legacy
The policies of outgoing Bank of Japan governor, Masaaki Shirakawa, have brought economic stability to Japan and are likely to be viewed favourably by future generations
French president calls for euro exchange rate policy
François Hollande says the single currency cannot be left vulnerable to the whims of the market and a valuation that wipes out efforts to improve competitiveness