Central Banks
Fed's TSLF fulfils its functions
Federal Reserve's Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF) is effective in improving market liquidity, finds a new paper form the New York Federal Reserve.
Iceland's Oddsson out, Norwegian consultant in
David Oddsson, the beleaguered head of the Central Bank of Iceland, was forced to step down on Friday following the passing of a new central bank act. Svein Harald Oygard, a director at McKinsey, a consultancy, will replace him as interim governor.
SNB's Roth to step down
Jean-Pierre Roth, the head of the Swiss National Bank, will retire at the end of this year.
Development banks pledge €24.5bn to east Europe
The World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the European Investment Bank on Friday agreed to lend up to €24.5 billion ($31 billion) to support banks in central and eastern Europe hit by the crisis.
Sovereign risk exacerbates procyclicality
The risk premium associated with the possibility of sovereign default plays a key role in the procyclicality of fiscal policy in emerging economies, finds a new paper from the Richmond Federal Reserve.
Bulgaria takes counter-cyclical measures
The Bulgarian National Bank has taken counter-cyclical measures to support its domestic banks.
Reducing foreclosures essential - Fed's Duke
We need to strengthen and augment our efforts to reduce preventable foreclosures, said Elizabeth Duke, a governor at the Federal Reserve.
We must review our reliance on ratings: King
Central banks must rethink their reliance on credit ratings to assess financial products' suitability for open-market operations, Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, has said.
Ex-Buba's Pohl sees euro threat
Karl Otto Pohl, a former president of the Bundesbank, has said that he believes countries are considering quitting the eurozone and that German politicians are concerned that they will end up shelling out for any member's debt defaults.
BoE's Tucker: end bickering over CDS clearing
Paul Tucker, the soon-to-be deputy governor responsible for financial stability at the Bank of England, has called on officials to stop feuding over plans to create a central counterparty for credit default swaps (CDS).
Washington talks down nationalisation
Some of the main players in the United States's plans to fix the financial sector have been playing down the likelihood of nationalisation in recent days.
Fears for zloty outweigh calls for cuts
The National Bank of Poland opted for a smaller-than-expected cut on Wednesday in a bid to maintain the value of the zloty. The move reflects the mounting concern among central and eastern European countries that marked currency depreciations could…
SA inflation dips as new gauge introduced
South African inflation plunged by more than two percentage points last month following the introduction of a new inflation basket.
Riksbank names new monetary policy deputy
Jesper Hansson, formerly the head of the monetary policy forecasting division of the Riksbank, is the new deputy head of the central bank's monetary department.
Romania wants to accelerate euro adoption
Bucharest is looking in to adopting the euro before the current target of 2014 in order to more closely link Romania's economy with other members of the European Union.
Framework for defaults required - BoJ's Shirakawa
The framework to deal with troubled financial institutions needs to be better developed, said Masaaki Shirakawa, the governor of the Bank of Japan.
Riksbank's policymakers cut on worsening outlook
The Executive Board of the Riksbank unanimously backed a repo rate cut of 100 basis points to 1%, the minutes of the 10 February meeting reveal.
Denmark's incredible price stability
The past five centuries in Denmark have been dominated by price stability, posits a new paper from the National Bank of Denmark.
Malaysia reneges on pledge to hold firm
Bank Negara Malaysia has cut its benchmark rate by a further half a point despite indication earlier this month that it would hold back on further loosening.
Crockett on lessons from history
Sir Andrew Crockett, a former general manager of the Bank for International Settlements now at JPMorgan, a bank, warns that officials must acknowledge the benefits of innovation and the inconsistencies between macro- and micro-level fixes.
Price target will settle expectations: Bernanke
The Federal Reserve's ushering in of an implicit inflation target should lead to more stable price expectations, the head of the central bank has said.
Fed site looks to clarify balance-sheet growth
The Federal Reserve has launched a new section of its website to explain why its balance sheet has doubled since the beginning of the crisis.
Transparency: too much of a good thing?
Too much monetary policy transparency can be bad, finds a new paper from the Bank of Japan.