Central Banks
Outlook for emerging markets not as ‘gloomy’ as people think, BoE’s Forbes says
Bank of England MPC member Kristin Forbes warns pessimism may be ‘overshadowing important differences across countries’ and strengths in some economies
Further rate hikes likely as Chile raises 25bp
Central bank lifts rate to 3.25% in first move in four years; analysts suggest the move is an effort to rein in expectations
EU must ‘contain divergence’ between member states, says Polish central bank head
Marek Belka says reforms will not be supported unless European Union prevents economic divergence; speakers say quality of structural reform debate must improve
MAS's Menon hails local alternative to cash
MAS director says Singapore's electronic transfer system potentially 'safer and cheaper' than notes and coins; wants people to be able to make payments using social networks
John Taylor and William Dudley clash on Fed strategy
Stanford professor John Taylor questions Fed’s communications; New York Fed president William Dudley sets out case against following more rules-based policy
More polymer banknotes in new Nicaraguan series
Nicaragua to use polymer substrate on two additional denominations in new series launched later this month; revamp costing over $17 million
Central banks starting to unlock potential in big data
Some central banks are making tentative inroads into the study of big data, and many more want to, a study by the BIS’s Irving Fisher Committee finds
Iosco, Asifma officials urge early global co-operation on future rules
Joining forces early on would improve regulatory cohesion between countries, but post-crisis pressure on national rule-makers to legislate poses problems, it is suggested at Hong Kong conference
ECB paper explores fiscal adjustment in stressed countries
Fiscal corrections have been ‘more costly’ in contractionary times in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain over the past 50 years, paper suggests
Jamaican governor defends update of central bank act
Amendments would give central bank new responsibility for financial system stability; Brian Wynter argues it is not designed to turn the institution into a ‘super-regulator’
Heterogeneous beliefs may weaken effect of forward guidance, paper argues
Fixed-date and state-contingent guidance by the Federal Reserve led some market expectations to converge, but heterogeneous beliefs about inflation and consumption persisted
BoE unveils final plans for ring-fencing banks
Consultation sets out how bank holding companies should structure themselves to comply with legislation on ring-fencing, but a decision on extra capital buffers is yet to come
Polish governor criticises five presidents’ report
Marek Belka says proposals contain ‘some good ideas’ but are ’timid and vague’ about what should be done in the longer-term; speaks alongside Ewald Nowotny at Warsaw conference
RBI economists attempt to pin down India’s natural rate
Researchers lend support to monetary policy by estimating natural interest rate; results imply the policy rate is now set more appropriately for tackling inflation
Eurosystem to consider Target2 and T2S merger
Yves Mersch says officials will look into the potential for consolidating some components of the payments and securities settlement services; potential for one unified platform
Blanchard and others look to reconcile theory of capital flows with practice
Revamp of Mundell-Fleming model helps explain apparently contradictory results, with important implications for policy-makers looking to respond to capital flows
ECB appoints Michael Diemer as first chief services officer
The European Central Bank has created a new post of chief services officer to co-ordinate all administrative, IT and human resources issues
Kenyan and Ugandan central banks act over troubled bank
Central Bank of Kenya places Imperial Bank under new management after being notified of ‘unsafe and unsound’ conditions; Bank of Uganda moves on local subsidiary