International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Robert Pringle's Viewpoint: The global finance system is in bad need of repair
Muddling through is not enough: neglect of global money can trigger political earthquakes that sweep away any chance of reasonable debate and compromise
SBP annual report highlights ‘two phase’ year
Pakistan’s economy suffered turbulent spell in 2013, but IMF agreement saw a return to relative stability; central bank praises government for ‘long-awaited’ return to fiscal discipline
IMF paper suggests Peruvian forex interventions are asymmetric
The Central Bank of Peru has tended to react differently in the face of appreciation and depreciation pressures, research finds
IMF paper: Costs of macro-pru policies still unclear
Policy-makers should ‘move carefully' in adopting macro-prudential tools as ‘knowledge is still limited', working paper argues
Argentina governor wants new growth model for LatAm
Central Bank of Argentina governor believes Latin American countries need to invest in infrastructure and boost internal production
Central Bank of Paraguay calls for new regulatory powers
Central Bank of Paraguay made a draft proposal to change the law, giving the institution powers to ‘change the prudential regulations according to market needs’
People: BoE poaches IMF researcher; Nigeria's central bank deputy stands down
Michael Kumhof leaves the IMF to join the Bank of England as senior research advisor; Kingsley Moghalu leaves the Central Bank of Nigeria after five years; and more
Bank of Korea governor sees imbalances worsening
Juyeol Lee warns a ‘fundamental rebalancing’ may be the only way to achieve longer-term growth; external imbalances may also deteriorate
Lagarde lauds new Mexican bonds with ‘strengthened' collective action clauses
Mexico issued $2 billion in 10-year bonds with new collective action clauses, which Lagarde says ‘will play a critical role in enhancing the architecture for sovereign debt markets’
The shift to a multi-polar world
Extraterritorial reach of US policies could hasten the use of alternative currencies; decision on renminbi inclusion in SDR may be a tipping point for relevance of Bretton Woods institutions
Book notes: What Have We learned? Macroeconomic Policy After the Crisis, by George Akerlof, Olivier Blanchard, David Romer and Joseph Stiglitz
This book brings together the great and the good of the economics profession, policy-makers and academics, to assess what the dust jacket describes as the “brave new economic world"
IMF finds Mexico well-placed to weather capital market volatility
Mexico should be able to ‘weather’ a rise in volatility, says the IMF, since the country has a healthy buffer of international reserves and ‘deep and liquid’ financial markets
Central Bank of Costa Rica should not have a growth target, says IMF
Costa Rican authorities should 'resist pressures to expand the central bank’s mandate' to include growth, according to IMF; general manager agrees
Lagarde approves of BoJ’s ‘brave’ decision to launch more QE
IMF managing director describes ramping up of asset purchases as ‘perfectly legitimate’ and ‘brave’ on high-level panel in Paris; Yellen, Coeuré, Rajan and Carstens also feature
ECB publishes letters between Trichet and Irish government
Letters relate to the period leading up to Ireland’s decision to enter an EU/IMF programme; ECB threatened to withhold access to ELA unless Ireland sought a bailout
People: Thomsen named head of IMF’s European department; Former deputy finance minister joins CNB
Poul Thomsen gets post on full-time basis after leading Fund’s programmes in Greece and Portugal; Radek Urban heads resolution department at Czech National Bank; and more
Lagarde rejects internal criticism of IMF austerity push
Independent Evaluation Office report out today concludes Fund's calls for fiscal consolidation in 2010-11 were ‘premature'; managing director says they were the ‘right call'
‘Fiscal devaluation’ not enough to solve competitiveness problems, IMF paper finds
Research finds rearranging taxes to shift the burden overseas has a muted effect on output, but may be useful as part of a broader package of structural reforms
IMF paper suggests solutions to collective action problems
Working paper says difficulties in achieving cooperation when tackling global risks are surmountable; suggests taking ‘incremental steps’ and ‘realigning incentives’
IMF paper examines causes of financial market spillovers
Research finds financial market spillovers are affected by ‘bilateral portfolio asset holdings, as well as a country’s geographical preferences’
The global financial architecture is broken
Central banks have taken over from Bretton Woods institutions in a multipolar world where actors are increasingly fearful of dealing in G-4 currencies, writes Andrew Sheng
Andrew Sheng says international monetary system is fundamentally flawed
Former chairman of Securities and Futures Commission says the world is breaking up into national currency blocks, and the revival of ‘Cold War 2.0’ makes it difficult to fix
Top regulators seek to dispel myth of global regulatory harmonisation
Officials from IMF, Bank of England and US Treasury say perfect harmonisation is next to impossible; key now is a shift from design of standards to implementation
Zhou backs Chinese growth target in face of slowdown
PBoC governor says Chinese economy is on track to hit growth target of 7.5% in 2014, despite drag from the housing market; central bank deploys measures to boost real estate sector