Monetary Policy
Rate round-up
Israel hikes but raft of others cut, including Hungary, Russia, South Africa and Romania
$500 billion reserve drain made crisis worse: IMF’s Ferhani
Deputy director says IMF research shows central bank reserve managers withdrew $500 billion from deposits at commercial banks during crisis
Central banks, not debt will kill growth: economist
Independent economist Roger Nightingale charges that debt on its own is not incompatible with growth, but raising rates will kill growth
Fed: macro models ignored lower bound of yield curve
San Francisco Fed constructs an augmented version of macro-finance model following financial crisis
ECB in about-turn on collateral rules
Move reflects concern over Greece; Trichet says graded haircut system set to be introduced
Fed’s Kohn attacks higher inflation targets
Federal Reserve vice chairman also dismissive of price-level targeting; admits central bankers were “a little complacent” pre-crisis
Yellen: Fed won’t inflate debt away
San Francisco Fed’s Janet Yellen tells LA town hall inflation will not run rampant so long as Fed retains independence
Italy’s Draghi favours “enforcement” over European Fund
Bank of Italy governor Mario Draghi says a new pact should be drawn up to enforce fiscal discipline, rather than building a continental version of the IMF
IMF calls for Zimbabwe to scrap governing board
Fund acknowledges success of multi-currency regime at close of Article IV consultation
Chiang Mai currency swap deal comes to life
Regional $120 billion currency swap arrangement between ASEAN members and east Asian powerhouses comes into force
Serbia’s Jelašić in shock exit
Governor says departure down to personal reasons
Philly Fed’s Plosser tears output-gap reliance apart
Philadelphia Fed’s Plosser cautions against rocking the policymaking boat
BoJ makes small concessions to government
Minutes from Bank of Japan’s February policy meeting show divide between policymakers on strength of economy, analysts say central stance unchanged
The bitter divide on inflation targeting
Economists are split over a recent suggestion that central banks should raise their inflation targets to allow more room for cuts in crises
Svensson: Riksbank needs to be more forceful
Riksbank deputy Lars Svensson explains Sweden’s response to crisis and draws on lessons for future
SNB’s Danthine denies franc float claims
Swiss National Bank governing board member Jean-Pierre Danthine denies his remarks hint at plans to float the Swiss franc
India surprises with 25 basis point hike
Reserve Bank of India ups key and repo rates as inflation bursts through 8.5% ceiling
Fullani: reassures parliament on steady recovery
Bank of Albania governor Ardian Fullani reassures lawmakers of continued growth following IMF performance review
BOE paper: inflation co-movement linked to globalisation
New study into co-movement in inflation across industrialised countries links low-inflation rates to falling commodities prices
Sweden’s Ingves explains decision to hold rates
Stefan Ingves the Riksbank’s governor offers reasons holding back on rate rise despite signs of strong economic recovery
BoE’s Sentance: rate policy to offset fiscal tightening
Bank of England’s Andrew Sentance says monetary policy can compensate for the negative impact of fiscal tightening on demand
ECB’s Stark contests IMF paper
Jürgen Stark argues that an inflation target at the 4% level would do more harm than good
BoJ board split on doubling liquidity scheme
Bank of Japan fixed-rate funds operations scheme to be doubled to ¥20 trillion, two board members dissent
BoJ study: low rates not enough
Bank of Japan study shows that low interest rate commitment was insufficient in stimulating growth