Monetary Policy
Japanese cabinet minister backs BOJ rate hike
Japan's Economic and Fiscal Policy minister Kaoru Yosano told public broadcaster NHK conditions are being met for an imminent rate hike by the Bank of Japan.
Riksbank united on rate increase, minutes show
The board of the Swedish Riksbank was unanimous in its 19 June decision to hike the repo rate by 25 basis points to 2.25 pct, according to the minutes of the monetary policy meeting published Monday 3 July.
Fed's 17th increase leaves India with no choice
According to this article published Monday 3 July by Bloomberg, the Reserve Bank of India cannot afford to skip another quarter-point increase in July, with the Federal Reserve boosting rates last week.
Comment: Bernanke's ally
The nomination of Frederic Mishkin to fill one of the two vacant seats on the Fed's board of governors will bolster the chairman, Ben Bernanke, in his attempts to quantify the central bank's inflation objective and move towards a more rule-based monetary…
Report says BOJ likely to start raising rates
The Bank of Japan is expected to start raising interest rates this month or next, a news report said Monday 3 June.
Mishkin nominated to Fed board
US president Bush nominated Frederic Mishkin, a professor at Columbia University, to join the Federal Reserve Board on Friday 30 June.
Jenkins on what monetary policy can & can't do
In the speech 'What monetary policy can and cannot do' given on 29 June Paul Jenkins of the Bank of Canada said the Bank of Canada's economic projections from its April monetary policy report are still reasonable despite a recent string of strong…
Fed raises rates, suggests may be nearing end
The Federal Reserve raised US interest rates to the highest point in more than five years Thursday 29 June and suggested the rate hike cycle may be nearing the end.
ECB paper on monetary policy
The ECB Working Paper "Adaptive learning, persistence, & optimal monetary policy" shows that, when private sector expectations are determined in line with adaptive learning, optimal policy responds persistently to cost-push shocks.
BoE's King criticises MPC appointment process
Bank of England governor Mervyn King on Thursday 29 June took aim at the "very much last minute" way in which members were appointed to the Monetary Policy Committee by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.
Federal Reserve expected to raise rates
Federal Reserve policymakers were widely expected to finish a two-day meeting on Thursday 29 June, by raising US interest rates for the 17th consecutive time to 5.25 percent.
Srejber on monetary policy & inflation-targeting
In the speech 'Should monetary policy subdue inflated high debts and asset prices in an inflation-targeting regime?' given on 28 June Eva Srejber of the Sveriges Riksbank said the Swedish central bank is not hamstrung by its practise of inflation…
Philippines central bank to reduce policy meetings
The central bank of the Philippines has decided to hold its monetary policy-setting meetings every six weeks starting July, instead of every four weeks.
Fed confronts failure to comprehend
According to this article from Bloomberg published Tuesday 27 June, five months into the term of Ben Bernanke at the Fed he and his colleagues haven't figured out how to get financial markets to understand what they are trying to do with monetary policy.
Comment: Bold CBT holds its breath
After another emergency meeting over the weekend the Central Bank of Turkey has raised interest rates by 225 basis points (bp). This has taken interest rates to 17.25%, following an initial hike of 175 bp earlier this month. Will this bold move make any…
Garganas says ECB may aggressively raise rates
European Central Bank council member Nicholas Garganas said in an interview the bank is ready to accelerate the pace of interest-rate increases to counter higher inflation risks in the eurozone.
US monetary policy
The course of U.S. monetary policy is "appropriate" and the country's rate of economic growth should slow in the second half of the year, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Rodrigo Rato said in Madrid.
Korea's Seong-Tae Lee on monetary policy
In the speech 'Monetary policy in an environment of low inflation' given on 16 June Seong-Tae Lee of the Bank of Korea said the emergence of global low inflation is of course a welcome phenomenon for central banks, for whom price stability is the top…
ECB keeping rate options open says Quaden
The European Central Bank is not ruling out the possibility of an interest rate hike in early August, ECB governing council member Guy Quaden was quoted as saying in an interview published Monday 26 June.
David Walton
This Obituary, published Friday 23 June, says that David Walton was a tough-minded economist who capped a brilliant City career with a seat on the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.
Comment: Vacant BoE MPC seats
Following the sad and unexpected news of the death of David Walton, a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, the British Treasury has yet another appointment to make.
Buba's Weber says ECB 'very accommodative'
Bundesbank president Axel Weber said on Friday 23 June that the European Central Bank's monetary policy remains very accommodative despite the June 8 interest rate increase.
Comment: Uganda eyes inflation target
The Bank of Uganda will implement an inflation-targetting framework in the near future, the governor of the central bank, Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, told CentralBankNews.com. Only a lack of adequate and timely data is holding it back.
BOJ members closely watching stock prices
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's recent policy board meeting released Tuesday 20 June said members need to closely watch the impact of a global decline in stock prices on the world's second-largest economy.