Central Banks
People: Estonia selects new governor-designate
Plus senior promotions in Hong Kong, India and Sri Lanka
ECB holds rates for third consecutive time
Lagarde celebrates ‘fading risks’ to eurozone growth thanks to trade deals and Gaza ceasefire
Why Europe cannot afford to delay the digital euro
CBDC would counter the erosion of sovereignty as cash recedes, substitution by foreign digital monies and weaponisation of access, argue Biagio Bossone and Céu Pereira
Swiss price controls do not depress inflation – SNB paper
CPI metric would ‘not have greatly differed’ had it excluded price-controlled goods, study finds
Japan holds rates, as expected, with two dissenting votes
BoJ governor says there is no ‘preset idea’ on future rate rises after dissenters call for 25bp hike
RBNZ governor says operational independence is crucial
Hawkesby says central bankers globally are worried attacks on independence will be normalised
Changing balance sheet composition mostly reflects normalisation
Gold buying and FX interventions drive changes in some jurisdictions
Fed cuts rates with dissenting votes in both directions
Risks to employment and prices split FOMC three ways
Bank of Canada makes modest rate cut
Economists disagree over wisdom of decision at time of above-target inflation and soft labour markets
Former Kansas City Fed chief sounds alarm over banks’ leverage
Hoenig says largest lenders are not adequately capitalised for their risks
‘Opaque’ AI poses supervisory challenge, says BdF’s Beau
Deputy governor says focus should be on data required for ‘new elements’ of EU’s AI act
Give BoJ policy space to fight inflation, says Bessent
US Treasury secretary hints at preference for rate hikes before Japan’s central bank meets
Inflation targeters mainly use corridor systems to set interest rates
But many central banks with exchange rate controls also use corridor systems
Deep water waves: accelerating, broadening, consequential
Factors that will impact investment returns over the next decades, the interplay between them and their likely impact on investment outcomes
NBER paper maps out international financial network
Rey and Stavrakeva show equities markets play crucial transmission role
Bessent includes former Lehman banker on Fed shortlist
Rick Rieder joins Bowman, Hassett, Waller and Warsh in running to replace Powell
France faces ‘gradual suffocation’ by debt, BdF governor says
Villeroy de Galhau finds notion of being under IMF tutelage 'insulting'
PBoC to resume open market China bond trading
Analysts expect purchases by central bank to support liquidity and government fiscal policy
Policy impact widely gauged by macro and market indicators
Policy-making frameworks commonly reviewed on ad hoc basis
Trade fragmentation not always inflationary – BoE study
Tariffs influence prices based on how sudden the shock is and how demand adjusts, researchers say