Central Banks
Cut expenditure as soon as recovery firms: RBI’s Gopinath
Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Shyamala Gopinath says spending will have to be reined in to protect and foster the country’s economic growth
Let the yuan appreciate: leading Chinese think tank
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences argues for a one-off 10% appreciation of the yuan as international calls intensify
Turkish cuts beginning to ease credit markets
Central Bank of Turkey says loosening has started to produce improvements in financial sector
ECB’s Stark: EU won’t bail out Greece
Markets see rhetoric as an attempt to pressurise Athens into making fiscal adjustments
Taylor-rule author blasts Bernanke’s argument
Economist John Taylor says Bernanke was wrong to argue that low interest rates were not a factor in the housing bubble that led to the financial crisis
Senator who proposed Fed overhaul to retire
Senate Banking Committee chairman Chris Dodd, who produced a sweeping bill that seeks to limit Fed power, announces that he will not seek re-election
Euroclear appoints new CEO
Settlement services provider names HSBC’s Tim Howell as replacement from Pierre Francotte
Bundesbank – Monthly report (Nov 2009)
German central bank’s monthly report documents the manufacturing-led recovery in global trade and stresses the need for fiscal consolidation in 2010
Leverage constraints: the Canadian experience
Bank of Canada paper shows that domestic banks fared better in the lead up to the crisis for having leverage ceilings; highlights some practical concerns
Iceland’s president vetoes $5.5 billion repayment
Decision underlines uncertainty caused by cross-border banking collapse; sparks rating-agency downgrade
Inflation targeting insufficient: China’s Zhou
People’s Bank of China’s Zhou Xiaochuan says targeting low inflation alone is inadequate, particularly in light of the financial crisis
Massive debts will stunt growth: Reinhart and Rogoff
Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff say on current debt trends, growth rates are set to fall substantially in four years’ time
Romania cuts by half point
National Bank of Romania reduces key rate in bid to meet inflation target
Fed’s Kohn on the links between macro and financial stability
Federal Reserve’s vice chairman notes crisis has illustrated two key lessons on the relationship between macroeconomic and financial stability
HK banks interdependent
Hong Kong Monetary Authority research says local banks as systemically important as international and mainland counterparts
Bank of Estonia leads the way in slashing budget
Estonian central bank sets an example by cutting costs by 10%, with EEK 1 m drop in staff costs; also expects income from reserves to fall
China should turn to oil: senior central banker
People’s Bank of China director says country should invest in oil and other resources; dismisses suggestion that reserve accumulation will force yuan appreciation
World’s biggest bond fund cuts back on gilts and treasuries
Pimco says it will reduce its holdings of US and UK government debt on concerns over rising debt and the withdrawal of asset purchase programmes
Benefits and limitations of transparency
A Centre for Economic Policy Research paper argues that while increases in transparency yield significant benefit at low levels, diminishing returns set in at higher levels
Bank of Korea – Financial Stability Report November 2009
Korean recovery rapid, with increases in quarterly growth rates and a revival in housing prices, says central bank report
"Lost Decade" in translation: what we learn from Japan
International Monetary Fund research asks what Japan’s Lost Decade could portend about recovery from Great Recession
Bernanke: low rates didn’t spur housing bubble
Federal Reserve’s Ben Bernanke says direct linkages between low federal funds rate and rise in house prices weak; fix regulation not monetary policy