Central Banks
The end is nigh for the eurozone over Greece
Economists Geoffrey Wood and Charles Dumas say the Greek debt crisis is set to tear asunder Europe’s poorly built Economic and Monetary Union, split over IMF bailout
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
Portugal suffers downgrade
Sovereign debt marked down a notch by Fitch; move eaxcerbates eurozone tensions
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
Euro should not covet reserve role
Panellists in CentralBanking.com web seminar say becoming a reserve currency would hamper recovery
Serbia’s Jelašić in shock exit
Governor says departure down to personal reasons
BoJ improves payments and settlements after crisis
Bank of Japan enhances its payments and settlements systems following Lehman collapse
Lockhart: Fed inflation anchor under threat
Atlanta Fed’s Dennis Lockhart warns that inflation expectations may be dislodged as a result of accommodative Fed stance
Hong Kong debt market rebounds
Latest Quarterly Bulletin from Hong Kong Monetary Authority shows debt markets have normalised in the territory following Lehman collapse
Philly Fed’s Plosser tears output-gap reliance apart
Philadelphia Fed’s Plosser cautions against rocking the policymaking boat
Central banks should oversee systemic risk
CentralBanking.com poll shows majority of respondents think central banks together with government bodies should be responsible for monitoring systemic risk
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
Central bankers see reserve future for renminbi
Central Banking Publications poll points to renminbi becoming reserve currency in the long term
Svensson: Riksbank needs to be more forceful
Riksbank deputy Lars Svensson explains Sweden’s response to crisis and draws on lessons for future
Merkel and central bankers clash over Greek fix
Bundesbank shows reluctance to back Merkel; ECB president Trichet pushes for European rescue fund to aid beleaguered eurozone members
Bernanke: too-big-to-fail problem “unconscionable”
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke calls for a revision of regulation on firms, which are “too big to fail”
King sees “room for improvement” in Bank’s communication
Bank of England governor Mervyn King defends the central bank’s fan charts, which have drawn criticism, but says it can still refine the communication of its forecasts
Bank of Israel back in the black by $374m
Israeli central bank declares a modest profit for last year, following $160m loss in 2008 and $1.4 billion loss the year previous