Central Banks
Krugman: there is a liquidity trap, we're in it
In the first of a three-night stint at the London School of Economics, Paul Krugman sounded the death knell for economists' faith in monetary policy as a means of avoiding depressions.
Ten to repay Tarp but COP wants more stress tests
The US Treasury on Wednesday said it will allow ten banks to repay government funds after stress tests showed that they held enough capital to see out the crisis.
UK eyes 2018 cheque-out
The UK is moving towards closing cheque clearing within a decade, Paul Smee, the chief executive of the UK Payment Council, told an industry conference in London.
Better plumbing can stabilise system: BoE's Tucker
Paul Tucker, a deputy governor at the Bank of England, has said that more widespread use of more open methods of trading would enhance the resilience of the financial system.
Ireland's rating downgraded for the second time
Ireland's sovereign credit rating with Standard & Poor's has dropped another notch on concerns connected to the rescue of the Irish banking system.
Sell yuan bonds: China banker to US, World Bank
Guo Shuqing says Washingtom, World Bank should offer yuan-denominated bonds
Russia could float rouble next year
The rouble may switch to a free float before 2011, a senior official at the country's central bank said at the weekend.
Lat Am's progress highlighted by crisis: BIS
The development of Latin America's financial markets and policymakers' enhanced credibility have been underscored by the region's ability to withstand the worst ravages of the crisis, a paper published by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said.
BoE looks to expands unconventional operations
The Bank of England has indicated that it wants to extend its quantitative easing programme to cover secured commercial paper.
Fiji's Reddy calls on banks to offer microfinance
There is no reason why all banks cannot provide microfinance, said Sada Reddy, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji.
Core business for core financial institutions
Core financial institutions should not be allowed to undertake excessively risky positions such as naked short-selling, says a draft report from a UN commission.
Norway's Gjedrem: SWF woes will ease with time
The Government Pension Fund is a long-term savings plan and capable of riding out large swings in the markets, said Svein Gjedrem, the governor of the Norges Bank.
Reserve Bank of Australia - Annual Report 2008
The Reserve Bank of Australia reviewed and restructured its currency activities during 2008, says Glenn Stevens, the governor of the central bank in its latest Annual Report.
SDR a better global currency: IMF's Lipsky
A senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official has said that its Special Drawing Right (SDR) is a viable global reserve currency with many benefits.
Iceland's losses soar on back of writedowns
The Central Bank of Iceland made a Ikr8.63 billion ($69m) loss in 2008 after it wrote off Ikr75 billion ($607m) in collateral loans following the collapse of the country's banking sector.
Fed to hire ex-Enron lobbyist?
The Federal Reserve is set to hire a former Enron lobbyist to defend itself against Congressional charges of opacity, it was reported on Friday.
NY Fed's Dudley plays down balance-sheet fears
William Dudley, the president of the New York Federal Reserve, has attempted to soothe fears that the expansion of the Fed's balance sheet could stoke inflation.
Cuba gets first new governor in 14 years
Ernesto Medina, the head of one of Cuba's major banks, has replaced Francisco Soberon as governor of the central bank.
Resource utilisation a policy factor for Riksbank
Monetary policy should take into account not only the total amount of spare capacity in the economy, but also its composition, said Svante berg, the first deputy governor of the Riksbank.
Price-level targeting better than IT
Moving to price-level targeting from inflation targeting is welfare enhancing when imperfect credibility is short-lived, a new paper from the Bank of Canada posits.
Serbia's Jelasic: microfinance struggling
The microfinance sector has been hit hard by the crisis, said Radovan Jelasic, the governor of the National Bank of Serbia.
Institutions matter in financial development
The gap in financial development between the countries of the CFA franc zone and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa can be explained by differences in institutional quality, new research from the International Monetary Fund reveals.
CEE central banks' reaction mixed on Latvia
The views of officials from other Central and Eastern European central banks on this week's escalation of Latvia's currency crisis are mixed.
Denmark urges banks to accept government offer
The National Bank of Denmark said on Thursday that almost half of its largest banks could go bust if they do not sign up to a government-funded initiative.