Opinion
Comment: Greenspan's parting shot
Alan Greenspan yesterday delivered his final Congressional testimony. Apart from an unsurprising, cautiously optimistic message on the short-run prospects for the U.S. economy, his parting shot came in the form of a stern warning to Congress that it…
The myth of the all-powerful Fed
Despite the outsized attention that any utterance from the Fed chair typically gets, the economic world isn't controlled by one person, or even one institution, this article published on Tuesday 1 November notes.
Comment: The Old Lady prevails
Deloitte, the liquidators of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), yesterday unconditionally withdrew all allegations of malfeasance on the part of the Bank of England and 22 of its present and former staff members related to the BCCI's…
Chairman nominee may bring new openness to the Fed
If Ben Bernanke has his way, the Federal Reserve is likely to become more open, according to this article published on Tuesday 1 November. His approach could lead to big changes in how the Fed communicates, it says.
Comment: Inflation jitters discounted
Bond yields have been rising rapidly as a result of jitters that rising oil prices will lead to higher inflation than previously expected. Stephen Roach, chief economist at Morgan Stanley, argues that the bond market has got it wrong - the global economy…
Alan Greenspan gives Ben Bernanke some pointers
This article published on Monday 31 October carries a supposed conversation between Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke. It says that, according to press reports, Greenspan wanted Donald Kohn to head the Federal Reserve instead of Bernanke.
Bernanke's models, and their limits
This article published on Sunday 30 October asks what Ben Bernanke's academic work can tell us about the sort of Fed chairman he will make. He has written repeatedly about ways of using dauntingly complex mathematical models of the economy to set…
Comment: Japan sees return to normal
Japan's monetary policymakers yesterday delivered another instalment of what is becoming an increasingly confident message: after seven years of deflation, they expect prices to start rising again early next year.
Bernanke needs tips from Ian Macfarlane
According to this article published on Wednesday 26 October, President George W. Bush has passed up the chance to put a decent central banker in charge of the Federal Reserve Board. Big Mac is well known in Washington - a central banker's central banker,…
Comment: Turkey treads path towards EU
The decision by the European Union to open membership talks with Turkey earlier this month is "the end of a long beginning", according to the central bank governor, Sureyya Serdengecti. Nonetheless membership is hardly around the corner.
Comment: Talking points in October
October has been a month of change, with high-profile staff announcements at the Bank of England, the Swedish Riksbank and, of course, the U.S. Fed. Here is a check list of these and other topics that have surfaced this month and are likely to remain of…
Missing ingredient in BOK
According to this article published on Wednesday 26 October, although the Bank of Korea's interest rate policy is supposed to be as powerful as the Fed's, few still believe that the BOK operates its monetary policy independently from the government.
Comment: Braced for a bumpy ride
The Bank of England, along with central banks in several other developed countries, has enjoyed fairly benign conditions in recent years. Inflation pressures have been relatively low, avoiding the need for the Bank to make the tough choice between output…
Ben Bernanke has a lot going for him to make it
According to this article published on Tuesday 25 October, Ben Bernanke will have a lot going for him if he becomes, as expected, the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. He is among the most knowledgeable economists in the world about monetary policy…
How can Bernanke succeed Greenspan?
This article published on Tuesday 25 October asks how can Ben Bernanke succeed a man described by President Bush as the most dominant central banker in history?
Comment: 'Ideas guy' takes the reins
The nomination of Ben Bernanke to be the fourteenth Federal Reserve chairman has been met in academic and policymaking circles with warm applause. Bernanke, quite simply, was the candidate the market wanted.
Will ECB match hawkish rhetoric with rate hike?
This article published on Friday 21 October reports that the ECB's more hawkish tone has got futures markets speculating that eurozone interest rates could be about to change.
Comment: Bands or point targets?
Relatively little attention is paid to issues regarding optimal institutional arrangements for inflation-targeting central banks, as the big policy debates seem to revolve more around whether or not countries should adopt the framework in the first place…
Comment: FX interventions
Most central banks have moved away from actual foreign exchange market interventions and now use communication, or verbal intervention, as a policy instrument to influence exchange rates when deemed necessary and desirable.
Greenspan isn't signaling rate-increase pause
According to this article published on Thursday 20 October, when Alan Greenspan told business executives in Tokyo this week that from now on "the recent surge in energy prices will undoubtedly be a drag" on economic growth, he wasn't signaling a pause in…
Comment: What drives the price of debt?
How, in a world where the amount of debt is rising rapidly, can credit spreads remain so low or even fall? And is this a sign of strength and stability, or a cause for concern?
Comment: Slipping behind on the euro
When ten new countries joined the EU in May last year, they did so promising that one day they would adopt the euro as their currency. At the time it seemed they hardly needed any coercing - joining the euro was something policymakers in these countries…
Comment: Oil's well that ends well?
In an increasingly integrated world, the economic fortunes of other countries and the health of the global economy weigh heavily on the minds of domestic policymakers. One of the most important "external" issues for monetary policymakers to deal with is…
G-20 statement following meeting in China
Finance ministers and central bank governors from the G-20 industrial and emerging economies issued a statement on Sunday 16 October after their two-day meeting in the city of Xianghe, south of Beijing, China.