Alan Greenspan
Bernanke tops Greenspan as market mover
This article from CNN Money, published Thursday 22 June, reports that a new study reveals that new Fed chief Ben Bernanke has provoked more movement than his predecessor, accounting for 27 basis points of variation in two-year yields.
Ignore cryptic central bankers at your peril
According to the article "Ignore at your peril the cryptic prophecies of central bankers" by William Keegan, published by The Observer on Saturday 17 June, with the world's stock markets suffering from an attack of the jitters, the role of central…
Clearly, Greenspanese isn't his language
According to this article by The New York Times, published Sunday 11 June, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has shown in recent comments that he knows how to send a message.
Comment: The housing bubble debate
In a recent working paper for the Czech National Bank Stephen Cecchetti, an economist at Brandeis University concludes that "monetary policymakers have no choice but to face the risks posed by asset price bubbles head on".
Comment: Papademos on asset bubbles
In a speech in Madrid last week, the ECB vice-president, Lucas Papademos, drew a line of distinction between the ECB's policy on asset prices and that of the US Fed. In doing so he sought to communicate that the Issing legacy is firmly in tact.
Greenspan picks writer to help with memoirs
Alan Greenspan has selected a Fortune Magazine veteran, Peter Petre, to assist him on his memoirs, The New York Times reported.
Greenspan sees little impact on growth from oil
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington that higher oil prices have had "little consequence" for a "more flexible" U.S. economy and probably haven't caused "serious erosion" worldwide.
Comment: Surprises as ECB reshuffles
The ECB last week surprised analysts by naming ex-Bundesbank official, Jurgen Stark, as head of its economics division. As expected, the central bank has split the management roles for the important divisions of economics and research, both previously…
Comment: Replacing Issing
Pressure is mounting on the ECB to finalise the reshuffle of its executive board, necessitated by the departure of its chief economist and head of research, Otmar Issing, this week. The absence of any official announcements on the matter is leading to…
Rybinski on inflation targeting, challenges ahead
In the speech 'Inflation targeting and the challenges ahead' given on 18 May Krzysztof Rybinski of the National Bank of Poland said that since 1990, when the pioneering Reserve Bank of New Zealand first introduced inflation targeting, over twenty…
Comment: May in Review
Inflation concerns and financial markets volatility returned in the month of May - central bankers around the world, in both the developed and developing world, are suddenly confronted with a very different environment.
SF Fed paper on the bond yield 'conundrum'
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Working Paper "The bond yield 'conundrum' from a macro-finance perspective," published May 2006, documents the extent and timing of the bond yield conundrum using two empirical no-arbitrage macro-finance models…
Comment: US 'break-even' inflation
News of a sudden increase in inflation fears has made headlines in recent weeks. In the case of the US, some have linked this to idea that new Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, is perceived as being too soft on inflation. What do the most recent estimates of…
Greenspan says housing bubble over
Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said Thursday 18 May, in his first public U.S. speech since retiring in January, that US consumption could fall now that the US housing market's "extraordinary boom" has ended.
Comment: Safe hands for Fed No. 2 spot
US president George W. Bush opted for a safe pair of hands in the form of Donald Kohn to replace Roger Ferguson as No. 2 at the Fed. Kohn, a 36-year Fed veteran, will be both a countervailing and supplementary force to the more studious Ben Bernanke.
Rato appoints committee to study IMF costs
IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato on Thursday 18 May announced the appointment of a committee of eminent persons to provide the Fund with an independent view of the available options for ensuring that it has a sustainable and durable income base with…
Comment: Inflation expectations
Ever since Milton Friedman's famous analysis of the "leads and lags" between interest rate changes and price- and output movements in 1961, the need for "forward-looking" monetary policy has been universally accepted.
China needs more Volcker and less Greenspan
According to this article published Monday 1 May, China's recent increase in interest rates may have the opposite effect to what was intended. The move may boost the economy, instead of slowing it, it says.
Bernanke delivers 'There may come a time' speech
According to this article published on Friday 28 April , Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has given his version of Greenspan's "there may come a time" speech, suggesting the Fed could pause in its campaign to raise rates.
RBA's Macfarlane on monetary policy & the media
In a transcript from a radio report on Friday 28 April, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Ian Macfarlane pondered why the Australian media covered interest rate moves much more than either the US or UK media. He also recounted a 'near-death' experience…
We hardly knew ye, conundrum; Now you're gone
According to this article published on Thursday 27 April, once Alan Greenspan was no longer around to articulate hypothetical explanations for the long-rate conundrum, it vanished with the former Fed chairman.
Indian central bank must let housing bubble be
This article published Thursday 20 April asks, is the Reserve Bank of India trying to prick the housing bubble, something that both Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke have shied from doing in the U.S.?
Greenspan says global imbalances can improve
Former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan told a conference on Wednesday 12 April that global economic imbalances could improve if high-growth economies allowed their currencies to strengthen.
'Dissolving' Fed secrecy
According to this article published on Wednesday 5 April, in 2000, when Wall Street's bubble burst, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and other Fed officials revealed in their meetings plenty of concern about just where things might be headed.