Economics
Basel III will choke SMEs, say leading bankers
Sands, Ackermann emphasise need for policy that supports small and medium enterprises; reiterate calls for a level playing field under Basel III
IMF: policy prescriptions for Asean 5 economies
Fund study lays out strategy for fiscal retrenchment in Asean 5 economies
IMF finds persistent debt overhang in Baltic countries
Fund study finds level debt overhang most pronounced in Estonia and Latvia
QE2 criticisms “baffling”: King
Attacks on the Federal Open Market Committee’s latest round of asset purchases meet with scorn from Bank of England governor
King: rebalancing pivotal to Britain’s economic health
Bank of England governor says biggest risk to British growth is external demand; relatively unconcerned by housing market
IMF research finds new method to model asset prices
Fund study uses a logarithmic linear method to compute risk adjustments in asset price models
Fed's Fisher lambasts QE2
Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher claims QE2 will not create jobs, just spur speculation; comments highlight threats to Bernanke consensus when Fisher and others become FOMC voters in 2011
Kansas Fed on moral hazard in lending
Kansas City Federal Reserve study shows moral hazard poses greater threat to lending than adverse selection
IMF: deep structural problems hinder Italy’s recovery
Fund study says Italian economy unlikely to return to full capacity unless structural weaknesses are addressed
New Fed office to aid stability, macroprudential efforts
Federal Reserve sets up financial stability policy office to coordinate institution-wide analysis on stability risks; J. Nellie Liang named director of office
Hong Kong will not abandon dollar peg: HKMA’s Chan
Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Norman Chan says central bank will maintain dollar peg
Temporary workers account for large part of labour reallocation costs: Bank of Canada
Bank of Canada study shows excluding temporary workers severely underestimates adjustment costs to labour
RBNZ: Australian economy strongly influences NZ dollar
Reserve Bank of New Zealand study finds evidence of large spillover effects from Australian economy on New Zealand dollar
IMF: post-Volcker monetary policy effective
Fund study find monetary policy has had just as much impact on output in the United States post-Volcker
DSK: surplus countries can rebalance growth
IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn says addressing global imbalances requires shift in surplus countries’ growth drivers
Ex-Bank’s Lomax attacks government over cutbacks
Former MPC member Rachel Lomax lambasts climate of fear promulgated by Britain’s coalition government in order to pave the way for fiscal retrenchment
CEPR: park cash in foreign assets to ease effects of foreign exchange windfall
Centre for Economic Policy Research says foreign exchange windfall can be absorbed by parking money in foreign assets
Roubini: Eurozone restructurings will leave bondholders facing losses
Government debt levels in peripheral Europe mean restructurings cannot be avoided, says economist Nouriel Roubini.
Interview: Mahamudu Bawumia
Former Bank of Ghana deputy governor discusses the economic and monetary policy challenges facing Ghana and Africa
Financial sector deepening crucial for Africa: ex-Ghana deputy
Former Bank of Ghana deputy governor Mahamudu Bawumia says bringing financial services to rural populations is key
BIS investigates drivers in US stock market
Bank for International Settlements study says changes in expected excess returns on dividends main driver of US stock market
Canada’s Carney: recovery to weaken
Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney forecasts subdued growth as economy enters next phase of recovery
SMEs profitability declining: ECB survey
European Central Bank survey shows deterioration in lending to small and medium enterprises
Iceland’s Sighvatsson calls for gradual removal of capital controls
Central Bank of Iceland deputy governor Arnór Sighvatsson says removal of capital controls in Iceland depends on investment in export sectors