Japan
Japan’s economy needs bolder policies
PM Abe announces decision to step down with many goals still unachieved
James Bullard on the Fed’s policy review, FSOC and forecasting jobs data
St Louis Fed president discusses his support for average inflation targeting, his concerns about US Treasuries market function, non-bank regulatory weakness and negative rates, as well as the unexpected success in using Homebase data to predict highly…
Bank of Japan intensifies CBDC research
Central bank appoints new CBDC head as ruling party warns Chinese effort poses security threat
Bank of Japan to begin testing CBDC
BoJ publishes report on feasibility of digital yen, a surprise move after governor’s ‘lack of demand’ comment
Coronavirus panic fuels a surge in cash demand
Covid-19 has led to banknote hoarding in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the eurozone, Russia and the US, fuelled by concerns about financial system stress, write Jonathan Ashworth and Charles Goodhart
Central bank museums grapple with lockdown
Money museums moved online to keep communicating during Covid-19 lockdown; some now plan to reopen for a limited number of visitors
Central banking enters a new era
Central banks face a delicate balancing act to preserve their reputations as they evolve into ‘buyers of last resort’ and some of their actions appear functionally equivalent to ‘monetary financing’
FOMC considers more aggressive forward guidance
Officials discussed state-contingent forward guidance and yield curve control, April minutes show
The ECB, the lockdown and the monetary financing lock
The eurozone’s central bank may need to break its prohibition on monetary financing to fight the pandemic
Bank of Japan appoints first female executive director
Tokiko Shimizu becomes first female executive director since bank was established in 1882
Charted: rush for dollar liquidity fades
Figures from central bank dollar repo facilities show waning demand, but outstanding swaps still high
Bank of Japan steps up stimulus with unlimited JGB purchases
BoJ drops limit on government debt and quadruples corporate bond cap, but it is unclear if purchases will actually increase
Policy-makers making risky ‘one-round bet’ on Covid-19 – El-Erian
Former Pimco chief worried about readiness and ability of policy-makers to tackle a ‘second wave’ of infections
Transfer season
Trade frictions with the US have caused a mass industrial transfer to China’s neighbours. Zhou Chengjun, IFF Academic Committee member and inspector of the Macro‑prudential Policy Bureau of the People’s Bank of China, says that shouldn’t stop China…
The long march to global growth
Liang Tao, vice-chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, says that China’s growth is fuelling innovation and modernisation, but financial regulation and governance needs to be tightened up for China to take its place at the top…
Concentrated firepower: central banks must expand their arsenal
Philip Turner argues central banks should be prepared to go further to avoid economic and financial collapse
Major economies already engaging in ‘currency wars’ – former IMF chief
De Larosière floats new commodity-based exchange rate regime; says “trust” is key to avoiding “beggar-thy-neighbour” policies
Dollar crunch eases as central banks step up swaps action
Core swap recipients will offer daily dollar auctions; cross-currency basis narrows
Fed expands network of swaps to emerging markets
Emerging markets will now have direct access to a dollar backstop, but it is still limited
Banks rush to tap new dollar liquidity facilities
IIF warns of major capital flight from emerging markets as demand for Fed-backed repos surges
Central banks grapple with dollar funding crunch
Indicators of stress hit highest levels since global crisis; dollar backstops may soon be tested
The Tokyo Olympics: downside risks prevail
The Bank of Japan’s latest stimulus effort seems to be weak, and comes at a time when the benefits of hosting the Tokyo Olympics may be overstated – even if the games still take place
Asian central banks rush to roll out easing measures
Japan expands asset purchases; Korea cuts rates to record low; China extends lending and HKMA cuts capital buffer
Fed cuts rates 100bp as central banks launch joint action
US central bank unveils unprecedented coronavirus response package as global swap lines are bolstered through co-ordinated action