Central Banks
Solomon Islands wins IMF support for ‘contractionary’ monetary policy
Central Bank of Solomon Islands maintains tight monetary policy in face of excess liquidity; IMF welcomes stance but tells authorities to implement a wider exchange rate band
BoE's Fisher says falling unemployment needn't mean rate rises
Bank of England's monetary policy committee must plot a course between choking off the recovery and allowing inflationary pressures to rise excessively, says head of markets Paul Fisher
Swiss National Bank tightens controls on mortgage lending
Switzerland’s Federal Council approves central bank proposal to double the size of the counter-cyclical capital buffer and cool the housing market
Central Bank of Turkey sells $2.5bn in attempt to halt lira freefall
Central bank buys local currency for an estimated $2.5 billion in one day, upping stakes on strategy that has seen it spend one-third of net reserves since June
Lautenschläger nominated as SSM vice-chair
The European Central Bank has nominated Sabine Lautenschläger as the vice-chair of the supervisory board; if appointed she will join Danièle Nouy at the top of the SSM
Prices transmit information from the informed to the uniformed, say researchers
Bank of Italy working paper examines how the price system affects companies’ demand for information on the macroeconomy; contributes to business cycle theory
Cœuré wants to fast-track resolution fund
Benoît Cœuré calls for single resolution fund to be established within five years; Axel Weber predicts that some of the eurozone banks will fail the ECB’s asset-quality review
Head of the Central Bank of Nicaragua removed by decree
Alberto Guevara was transferred to a different, as yet unknown, position within the government last week; the general manager is standing in and the bank is expected to comment publicly on Friday
RBI report recommends inflation target under new monetary policy framework
Committee set up by Raghuram Rajan in September calls for formal nominal inflation target of 4% to be phased in over two years; also recommends sweeping changes to bank's organisational structure
Vaguer guidance in vogue as unemployment continues to confound
As UK and US unemployment brushes the thresholds of monetary policy forward guidance, central banks' next moves are anything but straightforward
Dombret questions benefit of breaking up banks
Doubts that separation between investment and commercial banking would ensure that lenders can fail 'without disrupting the system'; says 'pure commercial banks' were at centre of crisis
Central banks found research prize in honour of Carl Menger
Deutsche Bundesbank, National Bank of Austria and Swiss National Bank announce the creation of a new prize for economic research, named after Austrian economist Carl Menger
Bank of Israel staff get bump in wages
Recently struck deal raises salaries by 1.78% and also increases wages retroactively for 2012 and 2013; governor Flug recently recieved 50% pay increase after push by former governor Stanley Fischer
Turkish prime minister praises central bank rate hold as lira falls to record lows
PM's comments following bank's decision to keep rates at 7.75%, despite a sharp drop in the lira's value in the past month, raise questions about government's role in monetary policy decision-making
IMF says world economy menaced by US taper and eurozone deflation
Eurozone deflation should be combated by every means available to the ECB, IMF says; emerging market risks from US taper will be overshadowed by benefit from advanced economy growth
People: Zambian deputy retires; Lautenschläger appointed at ECB
Bank of Zambia and Bank of Nigeria lose deputy governors to the ministry of transport and retirement respectively; Sabine Lautenschläger will join the ECB executive board on January 27
PBoC delivers on cash injection promises
People’s Bank of China uses standing lending facility and reverse repos to inject in excess of $37 billion into interbank market; releases statement to prepare market participants ahead of time
Portuguese paper finds banks lend to riskier borrowers when policy rates are low
Researchers find evidence supporting the existence of the ‘risk-taking channel’ of monetary policy; banks will grant more loans to companies with recent defaults when rates are lower
RBA inflation target mitigated terms of trade macro shocks
Researchers at the Reserve Bank of Australia argue that the country’s inflation targeting framework helped to mitigate the macroeconomic consequences of the recent terms of trade boom
BoE's Miles finds market context decisive for QE impact
Impact of QE working through a portfolio rebalancing channel is weak in an environment of 'functioning financial markets'; implications for purchases made in dysfunctional markets unclear
Chinese labour costs set to play significant inflation role
Researchers suggest that increases in labour costs do not pass ‘fully’ through to prices in China; warn this could change on the back of ‘recent sizeable growth’ in nominal wages