Central Banks
Fed’s Brainard sees scope for ‘watchful waiting’
Governor says there may be room to ‘support further healing’ in the labour market before raising interest rates, but notes first hike could still come this year
PBoC takes ‘one of final steps' toward interest rate liberalisation
China's central bank allows companies and individuals to invest in CDs exempt from deposit rate cap; major move toward interest rate liberalisation, analysts say
New euro banknotes go down well in the Netherlands
Study conducted for the Netherlands Bank finds new €5 and €10 banknotes are more popular than their predecessors, though familiarity with design features remains low
Former IMF chief weighs up benefits and costs of QE
Quantitative easing is having a profound effect on markets and banking. Jacques de Larosière weighs up some of the benefits and costs of QE
Riksbank calls for ‘urgent' clarification of FSA’s powers
Financial stability report says FSA needs clearer powers to cope with rising risks in the financial system; wants major banks to strengthen capital and liquidity positions
IMF's Patrick Njoroge nominated as Kenyan governor
President picks IMF adviser Njoroge from a shortlist of five candidates, which included current and former deputy governors; name passed to parliament for vetting
Draghi warns high volatility here to stay
Government bond yields continue to climb as Draghi says ‘we should get used to periods of higher volatility’ with interest rates on the floor; ECB keeps policy unchanged
Jeffrey Frankel argues for NGDP targeting by EMs
Monetary economist says targeting nominal GDP could allow emerging and developing countries to more credibly establish a nominal anchor
IMF researchers highlight high cost of unnecessary fiscal consolidation
For countries with very low borrowing costs, allowing debt ratios to fall ‘organically’ via growth is likely to be less damaging to the economy than harsh austerity, authors say
Hungarian central bank to adopt new policy rate
From September it will use the rate on a new deposit facility with a longer maturity, to encourage banks to park funds with the government instead of the central bank
Riksbank paper measures impact of debt-to-income limits
Report weighs the costs and benefits of debt-to-income limits, finding they can be effective in tackling debt and are likely to have a ‘relatively small’ macroeconomic effect
Outlook brightens for eurozone SME financing, ECB reports
Report shows access to financing improved over the most recent period surveyed, but the very smallest firms are still struggling and outcomes are diverse across countries
Nowotny sees ‘strange irony’ in Austrian success
Central bank governor argues policy-makers made Austria economically successful by acting contrary to the libertarian approach favoured by the Austrian School of economics
Greek governor wants surplus countries to recognise ‘toxic’ effect of austerity
Yannis Stournaras warns surplus countries must bear a share of the burden of adjustment in Europe or risk the rise of extreme political parties; says he is optimistic a deal is ‘not far away’
Nigerian central bankers accused of banknote ‘mega scam’
Six accused of taking more than $25 million worth of old banknotes that were meant to be destroyed; Economic and Financial Crime Commission says they will ‘face the wrath of the law’
Buyer sought for RBNZ securities settlement system
Reserve Bank of New Zealand looks to sell NZClear after deciding it is no longer a ‘core business'; sell-off part of payment system facelift
Assessing risks from household debt is a complex task, Riksbank study finds
Economic commentary says risks in household sector seem high, but assessing them properly depends on a host of factors that keep changing and data that may not be available
BoE paper questions dominance of Normal distribution
Using the t distribution and time-varying variance improves a vector autoregression’s fit with the data and forecasting performance, researchers find
People: Fed names payments director; Denmark appoints assistant governors
Federal Reserve chooses Gordon Werkema to lead its new payments strategy; Denmark promotes director of administration and adds second assistant governor; and more
Stanley Fischer praises BoE financial stability set-up as ‘leading model’
Fed vice-chair explores different arrangements for financial stability and concludes separate committee within central bank is a good model; does not rule out leaning against wind