Central Banks
HKMA tightens housing rules as ‘buoyancy’ returns
Norman Chan points to ‘notable increases in prices and transaction volume’ as he unveils changes to the HKMA’s macro-prudential policies
Kuroda says oil shock has not thrown recovery off track
Inflation was nearing the target before being knocked down by the oil price collapse, BoJ governor says, insisting Japan’s ‘deflationary mind-set’ is still steadily fading
Kazakh central bank expects to hit inflation target if oil averages $50 or $60
National Bank of Kazakhstan publishes two forecasts with different assumptions about oil price; plans to limit market volatility by expanding monetary instruments
Hryvnia back from brink despite central bank U-turn
Central bank manages to stem Ukrainian currency’s free-fall despite adding to market chaos with volte-face on foreign exchange controls; two failed banks enter liquidation
BoE revamps market intelligence approach
New approach to include greater transparency and a new executive committee to oversee market intelligence, following concerns flagged by Grabiner Report
Czech paper finds mixed evidence of spillovers from ECB unconventional policies
Impact of spillovers depends on whether the policy is conventional or unconventional, and has a larger impact on inflation than on growth, working paper finds
Greek governor calls for reform and coherent growth plan
Yannis Stournaras urges government to honour Greece’s commitments and reach a prompt agreement with its European partners, then focus on creating sustainable growth
IMF research looks to jumpstart market for Italian NPLs
Nadège Jassaud and Kenneth Kang discuss their strategy for fostering a market for non-performing loans with Central Banking, stressing the need for ‘decisive action’
BIS’s Caruana calls for ‘humble’ risk management
General manager says both risk managers and regulators must show an awareness of the limits of our understanding as the financial system and real economy grow ever more complex and intertwined
Draghi defends Greek waiver decision in heated parliament session
ECB president defends bond-waiver decision and dismisses ‘popular mistakes’ over the disbursement of profits, having to raise his voice over heckling from MEPs
Climate change on BoE research agenda
Bank of England says research could examine how central banking can ‘play a role’ in addressing systemic environmental risks; conference panellists consider issue
Paper tackles US inflation puzzle with new Phillips curve
Authors of research published by IMF find core inflation movements can be explained by anchored expectations and short-term unemployment “stories”
BoE panellists: Central banks need better understanding of policy interactions
Policy-makers are already having to cope in practice with a ‘tripartite’ mandate while research struggles to catch up, raising the possibility of dangerous blind spots
Spanish paper finds relationship between number of lawyers and litigation rates
Working paper published by Bank of Spain warns not to read too much into results, but finds they are useful in conducting a ‘preliminary’ evaluation of recent reforms
BoE unveils wide-ranging research agenda
‘One Bank’ research agenda seeks to shake up the status quo and help theory catch up with the practice of new central bank mandates and looming challenges
Haldane wants to turn economic methodology on its head
BoE chief economist turns away from deductive methods and towards mining big data in search of correlations, but former ECB research director warns him to temper his enthusiasm
Yellen defends relationship with White House
Fed chair tells congressional committee she did not discuss monetary policy with Treasury secretary or executive branch of government, when quizzed on ‘near-weekly’ meetings
State Bank of Pakistan mulls new target rate
New proposals aim to establish a new ‘target rate’ within the existing interest rate corridor; advisory committee on monetary policy will decide whether to adopt them next month
Barbadian governor in rallying cry on productivity
DeLisle Worrell calls on workers to “contribute more” to the production of goods and services in the Caribbean country; sees lack of engagement as a key challenge
Riksbank board uncertain about negative rate limits
Minutes from executive board meeting that led to negative rates and quantitative easing reveal uncertainty about where floor for repo rate might be