Central Banks
Sukuk financing key for Malaysian economy – Zamani
Bank Negara Malaysia’s Zamani Ghani says Islamic finance is the main source of financing for Malaysian businesses
Turkey’s inflation forecast unchanged despite hike
The Central Bank of Turkey’s quarterly Inflation Report shows inflation hike end-2009 temporary
Fed could have done more: CEPR paper
A paper reviewing the Fed’s policy actions in the crisis finds that it could have pushed further, according to economic theory
Shirakawa slams govt “misunderstanding”
Japanese central bank governor Masaaki Shirakawa defends policy actions and says calls for more monetary easing are fundamentally misguided
HKMA’s Chan: Asian Crisis lessons were forgotten
Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Norman Chan on drawing lessons from financial crisis
ECB’s Bini Smaghi demands capital uptake
European Central Bank’s Lorenzo Bini Smaghi “insists” banks use profits to raise capital rather than wages; line echoes position of the Bank of England
ECB – Structural Indicators for the EU Banking Sector
European Central Bank (ECB) publishes its latest report Structural Indicators for the EU Banking Sector
RBI hikes reserve ratio
Reserve Bank of India bids to counter risk that high food inflation could spark broader price pressures
Rate decisions this week
Majority of central banks to vote this week hold rates constant though dissent voiced in the US and South Africa; Philippines and India tighten, Hungary loosens
Senate backs Bernanke for second term
Lawmakers vote 70 to 30 in favour
FSA’s Turner wants new macroprudential body
The UK’s top regulator Adair Turner says a body other than the Bank of England is needed to implement macroprudential supervision
Monthly report (January) – Bank of Japan
Bank of Japan sees upward pressure on corporate goods prices, increases in exports and production
A new default and credit risk model for Korea
Bank of Korea research develops a model to estimate the probability of default using new indicators such as debt-to-equity ratios that better explain behaviour
RBI hints at tightening ahead of policy meet
Reserve Bank of India flags inflation as “major concern” on eve of rate vote
Malawi’s reserves insufficient and volatile: Ligoya
Reserve Bank of Malawi’s Perks Ligoya says export diversification needed to generate stable foreign-exchange income
Joint fiscal stimulus does everyone good
Bank of Canada looks at the potential effect of the joint fiscal policy initiatives of the G20 in 2009 and 2010
Frank says Fed presidents shouldn’t vote on policy
Head of House Financial Services Committee labels heads of regional Federal Reserves “private citizens selected by other private citizens”
Reshape debt to prevent future crises: Bank’s Haldane
Bank of England director Andrew Haldane points to debt-equity swaps and contingent capital as means to avoid another debt crisis; says shareholder dividends should have been saved
Kansas’s Hoenig dissents at FOMC meeting
Kansas Fed president Thomas Hoenig votes against action to keep promise of extremely accommodative policy
Services inflation must fall: Bank’s Sentance
BoE rate-setter Andrew Sentance says spike in goods inflation is increasing pressure for services inflation to be controlled
NY Fed misrepresented French AIG position: Tarp overseer
Tarp overseer Neil Barofsky says Commission Bancaire would have helped secure haircuts from French counterparties of American International Group; comments contradict earlier claim by New York Fed