Monetary Policy
Bank of England voted 7-1 to hold rates
Bank of England policymakers voted 7-1 to leave UK interest rates unchanged at their 7-8 June meeting, minutes released Wednesday 21 June showed.
Fed's Kohn on the effects of globalization
In the speech 'The effects of globalization on inflation and their implications for monetary policy' given on 16 June Donald Kohn of the Federal Reserve said cutting U.S. inflation "could be difficult and costly" once it rose.
Paper on European monetary policy
The paper "Is European monetary policy appropriate for the EMU member countries? A counterfactual analysis" analyses whether interest rate paths in the EMU member countries would have been different if the previous national central banks had not handed…
Poole on the role of anecdotal information
In the speech 'The role of anecdotal information in monetary policy' given on 16 June William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said US policy makers should use anecdotal information to help assess whether higher energy prices are driving…
Letter to the FT from Irma Rosenberg
In a letter published by the Financial Times on Thursday 15 June, Irma Rosenberg of the Swedish Riksbank says inflation targeting as practised by many central banks has undoubtedly been very successful.
Mersch says ECB ready to raise rates again
With inflationary pressures evident in the eurozone, the European Central Bank stands ready to raise interest rates again whenever necessary, Governing Council member Yves Mersch said at the presentation of the Luxembourg central bank's annual report.
BoE's King on monetary policy
In a speech given on 12 June Mervyn King of the Bank of England said global interest rates may have been too low and "too accommodative" for too long, fanning inflation which is now feeding into the U.K. economy.
Nyberg on the Riksbank's monetary policy strategy
In the speech 'The Riksbank's monetary policy strategy' given on 19 May Lars Nyberg of the Sveriges Riksbank said the decision to hold the repo rate unchanged at the most recent monetary policy meeting was not a self-evident decision.
Trichet is right to be nervous about inflation
According to this article by the Financial Times, published Monday 12 June, Jean-Claude Trichet and his ECB colleagues are nervous about inflation and rightly so.
Comment: Hawkish Fed
After a string of speeches by its senior staff this week, the Fed appears to be in an increasingly hawkish mood. The growing perception that that US interest rates will have to rise further could be bolstered by today's release of consumer price data for…
RBI's Reddy says monetary policy 'in sync'
Reserve Bank of India governor Y. V. Reddy said on Saturday 10 June that the recent increase in overnight interest rates was necessary so that India was not "out of sync" with the monetary developments in the world.
Pianalto on economic conditions & monetary policy
In the speech 'Economic conditions and monetary policy' given on 12 June Sandra Pianalto of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland said recent news on US inflation has been troubling, but if the economy moderates as forecast, an interest rate at 5% is…
Comment: The housing bubble debate
In a recent working paper for the Czech National Bank Stephen Cecchetti, an economist at Brandeis University concludes that "monetary policymakers have no choice but to face the risks posed by asset price bubbles head on".
Trichet on activism & alertness in monetary policy
In the speech 'Activism and alertness in monetary policy' given on 8 June Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said we are not in a position that we would judge "abnormal", in the sense that we would have to increase as rapidly as possible our interest rates…
Weber: Rate moves not subject to FX considerations
Bundesbank president and European Central Bank council member Axel Weber said Friday 9 June that the ECB cannot make interest rate decisions with reference to the level of the euro.
Fed, under pressure, may go ahead with increase
According to this article by John Berry of Bloomberg, published Friday 9 June, Federal Reserve officials now seem likely to raise US interest rates later this month.
What did Bernanke say?
According to this editorial published Wednesday 7 June, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is probably obsessed with central bank transparency.
Rosenberg on the Riksbank's forecasts & mon policy
In the speech 'The Riksbank's forecasts and current monetary policy' given on 8 June Irma Rosenberg of the Sveriges Riksbank said she believes it is time for less expansionary monetary policy.
Comment: Rates on the up
Monetary policymakers from Mumbia to Madrid to Pretoria stepped firmly on the monetary brakes yesterday, with no less than six central banks hiking rates.
ECB raises rates, sees further hikes ahead
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said Thursday 8 June that the ECB is likely to raise interest rates again in future if the euro zone economy continues to recover.
Macklem on floating dollar, anchored inflation
In the speech 'Floating Dollar, Anchored Inflation: The Role of the Exchange Rate in Canada's Monetary Policy Framework' given on 8 June Tiff Macklem of the Bank of Canada said the Canadian dollar's rapid recent appreciation reflects strong demand for…
Caruana at the ECB's Governing Council Dinner
In a speech given on 7 June Jaime Caruana of the Bank of Spain said the ECB's monetary policy has been positive for the euro zone economy, but it needs to be supported by economic reforms by euro zone governments.
BOJ urged to maintain zero rate policy
Japan's government has urged the central bank to maintain its zero interest rates policy in order not to choke off the country's economic recovery.
RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement, June 2006
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand published its June 2006 Monetary Policy Statement on 8 June. The report said that recent economic activity has been weaker than projected in the March Monetary Policy Statement. However, the short-term inflation outlook…