Central Banks
IMF voices fears over Madagascar central bank’s local gold buying
Central bank is buying unrefined gold, but IMF officials warn safeguards are at risk
Syrian president fires central bank chief
Karfoul struggled to deal with further sharp slide in Syrian currency amid civil war, reports say
Central Bank of Barbados closes office after volcano erupts
Ash cloud from neighbouring island causes central bank to suspend in-person operations
Inflation in Sweden rises to 1.9%
Analysts say stable core inflation means Riksbank is unlikely to tighten policy
‘Dark trading’ approach shows UK regulators are more ‘nimble’ – FCA
UK regulator has not seen evidence that dark trading harms market participants
Chief economist Haldane to leave BoE
Influential thinker on regulation and monetary policy leaves UK central bank to lead think-tank
Demand for US services likely to rebound- Cleveland Fed survey
Study says US consumers have become more optimistic, except older people
BoC survey says firms expect higher inflation
Over half of Canadian businesses expect annual inflation will exceed target level’s midpoint
Sweden’s pension funds curb inequality, official says
Riksbank’s Ohlsson says collective funds mean high asset prices benefit wider population
Book notes: Central banks as fiscal players, by Willem Buiter
Buiter puts a real economic problem into a convincing theoretical frame, and translates it into applicable policy advice
Bank of Canada warns of possible housing pressures
BoC research highlights “vulnerabilities” as banks issue more high loan-to-income mortgages
SF Fed president says inequality could have cost US $2.6 trillion in 2019
Research paper argues opportunity and pay could increase labour output 40% by 2029
People: UAE president restructures central bank board
Cleveland Fed appoints senior vice-president to head project on improving US Treasury’s tax collection
Regulating big tech and non-bank financial services in the digital era
Big tech incursions into financial services in China and elsewhere demonstrate the potential benefits of adopting a digital-bank or holding-company approach to financial regulation
New governor takes office in Belize
Former IMF official Vasquez takes office as financial and economic crisis unsettles country
‘Bottom-up’ approach can improve inflation forecasts – BoE paper
Item-level inflation data contains useful information for forecasting, authors find
Bank of Israel’s reserves reach new record high
Reserves portfolio reaches $185.7 billion, driven by central bank’s FX interventions
Hungary’s central bank triples gold holdings
MNB says inflation risk and higher government debt played “key role” in decision
New FOMC target may be shifting expectations – research
Cleveland Fed paper says some professional forecasters driving rise in inflation expectations
Carolyn Wilkins joins BoE’s financial policy committee
Former Bank of Canada deputy governor will replace Donald Kohn on FPC
Norwegian SWF makes first investment in unlisted green project
GPFG to invest $1.66 billion in Dutch offshore wind farm
UAE names new central bank governor
President appoints deputy to top role as former governor resigns after one year in post