Central Banks
Greece referendum puts eurozone rescue plan in jeopardy
Athens throws spanner in the works with the announcement of a referendum on the eurozone rescue package in January; parliamentary confidence vote also due on Friday
Bank of Canada inflation target mandate set to stay
Governor Mark Carney appears before House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance to explain research done on topic; finance minister confirms inflation targeting to stay
Former Bank of Italy governor sentenced
Antonio Fazio convicted again over rigging sale of Italian banks; jail term will not begin until final level of appeal fails
BoE paper identifies strong habit-formation in savings
Bank of England study finds length of precautionary savings incentive during periods of volatility is often underestimated in monetary policy models
RBA cuts rates on weak global growth outlook
Reserve Bank of Australia drops interest rates by 25 basis points as inflation outlook improves and concerns over recovery in global demand mounts
Central bank communication crucial to formation of market expectations: ECB paper
European Central Bank paper shows effective use of communication on policy choices has important impact on market expectations
Jenkins calls for shift in bank profitability calculation
Newest Interim FPC member, Robert Jenkins, says banks “confuse” return on equity with shareholder value; calls for “clear-headed” dialogue on the “true cost of capital”
Treasury Committee releases terse correspondence with BoE Court
Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee releases correspondence with chairman of the Court of the Bank of England; shows strained relations over release of meeting minutes
Libyan treasure looted from commercial bank
Reports emerge from Libya's National Transitional Council that more than 7,000 coins were stolen from a commercial bank in Benghazi during conflict
Trichet says China funding request is right thing to do
Outgoing ECB president denies it is embarrassing or humbling for Europe to have to ask other countries for financial support; insists it is "absolutely normal" in today’s global world
SNB returns to profit with $19 billion gain
Swiss National Bank reports large profit for first three quarters of 2011 due to valuation gains in gold holdings and decline in foreign currency losses
UK mortgage lending slows: BoE data
Bank of England Trends in Lending shows mortgage lending by major UK lenders fell in September after strong growth in loan issuance during 2011
Japan's Shirakawa explains QE expansion
Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa says the central bank’s latest round of quantitative easing was due to delay in return to price stability
MAS’s Ong says insurance industry can aid growth
Monetary Authority of Singapore deputy managing director Ong Chong Tee says Asia’s growth prospects are at risk from events in developed countries
Hildebrand and Carney vie for FSB chair
Mario Draghi relinquishes role as head of the Financial Stability Board; race is on to claim the job
Thai banks to 'scale down' operations as floods hit Bangkok
Central bank tells financial institutions to “scale down” to only essential operations in order to safeguard employees; inflation report shows contraction in Thai economy this year
BIS reviews development of macroprudential toolkits
Bank for International Settlements progress report to G-20 says macroprudential framework needs appropriate tools to limit systemic risk; provides broad definition of macroprudential
BoJ provides more scope to ease policy
Bank of Japan amends terms and conditions of asset purchase programme to enable further room for monetary easing as yen hits five-year high