News
BIS paper finds Fed’s QE had little discernible impact on real economy
Results are still preliminary, authors say, but “cast some doubt” on the effectiveness of US quantitative easing
Money targeting key to Egypt reform programme
Central bank to maintain flexible exchange rates and keep a close rein on the money supply as IMF pledges $12 billion support
Xi says China is open for business as US turns away
China to become a bigger player in global markets as US seems to be turning inwards, says President Xi; firms looking to invest overseas
Central Bank of Nigeria bans banks from using digital currencies
CBN warns on AML-CFT risk to banks from dealings with “virtual currency exchangers”
‘Digital base money’ could hinder monetary policy, ECB official warns
Mersch examines means of issuing central bank-backed digital money to non-banks
Irish central bank sells old premises for €67 million
Move to new purpose-built premises due to be completed by end of first quarter
Davos panellists highlight risks posed by strong dollar
At the World Economic Forum, experts underline the risks of a strengthening dollar on not only US monetary policy, but also on emerging markets’ economies
Review urges BIS to curb dominance of ‘house view’ in research
Panel including UK’s Charlie Bean finds BIS research has at times been “genuinely path-breaking” but should give economists more room to differ from the house view
Eichengreen sees danger in US fiscal stimulus
Veteran economist warns infrastructure spending in the US may prove damaging to both the domestic and global economy, without necessarily fixing secular stagnation
Carney: 250,000 jobs lost by 2018 if BoE had not acted after Brexit vote
BoE governor defends 2016 action by underlining policy trade-off, but warns consumers are "looking through" Brexit-related uncertainties
South Sudan president dismisses bank governor, reports allege
Country’s economy in crisis, but central bank role appears limited, experts say
IMF raises projections for US and eurozone growth for 2017
US policy mix still uncertain, but IMF staff do not yet believe changes will trigger an international trade shock; growth projections for emerging economies revised downwards
‘Humiliated’ RBI staff urge Patel to resist ‘unwarranted’ government interference
Reserve Bank of India staff send impassioned letter to governor to protect the central bank’s autonomy; finance ministry objects to claims, stating central bank is fully independent
People: RBNZ appoints new CIO; former BoE deputy to chair BBC
Reserve Bank of New Zealand appoints new CIO and head of risk assessment; David Clementi, former Bank of England deputy for financial stability, to head new BBC board; and more
Measurement error a big part of ‘missing growth’ – Philippe Aghion
Statistics fail to capture creative destruction, French academic argues; US researchers say productivity in IT sector points to continued puzzle
Dutch paper looks at sovereign bank interdependencies
Researchers apply correlation between sovereign and bank credit default swaps
ECB minutes show dissent over asset purchases
Some council members expressed “scepticism” over asset purchases; two programme extension options were discussed
Bank of Lithuania plans to cut costs by a fifth
Strategic plan aims at improvements to payments system; bank aims to increase income from investment
BIS fails to find single cause of sterling ‘flash crash’
Report finds “numerous” factors which amplified the effects of the depreciation, including “inexperience staff” and “fragile” market conditions; lessons must be learned, BIS warns
Bitcoin exchange halts service after PBoC clampdown
BTC123 becomes first exchange in China to halt services due to ongoing investigation by government agencies into virtual currency; cuts rates on wealth products
US may not experience fiscal stimulus – Atlanta Fed president
Dennis Lockhart says the US economy has reached a “transitional” juncture; says declines in key growth factors are holding the economy back
Swift creates distributed ledger proof-of-concept
Swift, in conjunction with Hyperledger working group, will launch private distributed ledger network to help banks manage their cross-border payments
FSB finalises recommended action on asset management risks
Set of recommendations tackle liquidity, leverage, op risk and securities lending; work on globally systemic designations pushed back until 2019
Brazil ups pace of easing as inflation drops
Size of cut surprises observers, though inflation proves more favourable than expected; rates still rising in real terms