United States
Yellen ‘should be ashamed’ – Trump
Republican nominee for US presidency attacks Fed chair Yellen and says interest rates must be raised
Chinese financial spillovers to Asia-Pacific on the rise – BIS paper
Working paper finds Chinese equity markets now have almost as much of an impact on Asia-Pacific as the US, though the effects differ in stressed and placid times
Boston Fed’s Rosengren highlights risk of overheating
US economy looks “resilient”, despite some mixed signals from the data, says regional Fed president; advocates process of gradual rate hikes as the risk of an overheating economy grows
George and Lacker push back against calls for Fed governance reform
Presidents say mixed public-private funding and governance helps protect the independence of the regional Feds, though others warn private banks are having too much say in policy
Major economies show clear credit price cycles, researchers say
Housing markets are a key influence on credit prices cycles in the US and major European economies, an ECB paper argues
US credit constraints heighten global propagation of financial shocks, researchers argue
Normal credit conditions in domestic US economy greatly lessen the global impact of American financial shocks, a European Central Bank paper argues
Yellen: future policy-makers may need new tools to tackle recessions
Fed chair says equilibrium rates may not be high enough for rate cuts to deal with all eventualities, so US policy-makers may need to think more laterally about their options
Book notes: The power of a single number, by Philipp Lepenies
Lepenies offers a brief but very readable treatment of GDP's political history, drawing out some important lessons in the process
Overhaul of Federal Reserve structure is needed, paper says
Former adviser to Bernanke co-authors paper stressing need to end private control of 12 regional Fed banks; diversity and transparency need improvement, authors argue
US inflation target within ‘hailing distance’, says Fischer
The Fed is “close” to its targets says vice-chair; despite recent weak GDP figures, Fischer expects investment to recover in coming months
Federal Reserve Board seeks comms boost with Facebook page
Fed adopts its fifth form of social media in an effort to reach a greater audience, joining many other central banks expanding their communications in a similar direction
CFTC charges Deutsche Bank with reporting code violations
US regulator files legal complaint against Deutsche Bank for swap reporting violations; complaint is latest blow to German giant’s US operations
Bullard backs new approach to forecasting
Idea of economy converging to a single steady state has “likely outlived its usefulness”, St Louis Fed president says; instead reserve bank will now focus on regime-based forecasts
Atlanta Fed president ‘not prepared to rule out’ further rate rise this year
Despite “troubling” headline GDP growth figures, “final real sales” figures point to US economy maintaining momentum and heading for third-quarter growth, Dennis Lockhart says
Tajikistan objects to Basel Institute’s anti-money-laundering criticisms
The Basel Institute’s grading of Tajikistan as the third-worst money laundering jurisdiction in the world is based on an “absolutely incorrect analysis”, the country’s central bank says
San Francisco Fed chief calls for policy target re-think
John Williams calls for central banks to consider raising their inflation targets or replacing them with nominal GDP targets; lower natural interest rates seem “poised to stay”, he argues
US enforcement actions stopped worse borrowing terms during subprime crisis, paper argues
Researchers compile database matching US enforcement actions to banks and their loans; price, duration and size of loans improved following enforcement actions, they argue
US unconventional monetary policy most effective in financial crisis, paper argues
Conventional and unconventional monetary policies in the United States work through distinct channels, with different levels of effectiveness in crisis conditions, researchers argue
IMF paper explores link between imports and pro-cyclicality of productivity
Research finds firm-level import decisions explain “non-trivial” fraction of fluctuations in aggregate productivity in South Korean manufacturing sector between 2006 and 2012
Regulation may be fuelling covered interest parity breakdown – BoJ economists
Authors link puzzling breakdown of CIP to regulations including liquidity constraints, as well as divergent monetary policies
BIS paper digs into complex spillovers from US rates
Authors find short-run US rates have little impact on long-term rates elsewhere, but transmission at longer maturities and via bond markets is high
Rise of services in advanced economies weakens transmission of monetary policy, paper argues
The transmission of monetary policy in advanced economies is weakened by the greater prominence of services, a Bank of Spain working paper argues; researchers use data from US
IMF’s response to self-evaluation report ‘very positive’
Engagement with evaluation "very positive", says IEO official, after it offered broad support to recommendations, with some qualifications
Philadelphia paper explores drivers of bankruptcy decisions
Working paper examines the extent to which the structure of a household’s balance sheet and income statement influences its decision to file for bankruptcy in the wake of an income shock