United States
Inflation could ‘approach’ FOMC target quicker than expected – George
Kansas City Fed president says decline in inflation has been idiosyncratic
Bank of Lithuania paper explores spillovers of US policy uncertainty
Authors find “significant recessionary and deflationary effect” and synchronous response worldwide
Fed’s Clarida says vaccine rollout has ‘brightened’ 2021 economic outlook
Rising Covid cases are downside in near term, but economy should bounce back, says vice-chair
FOMC members welcomed ‘outcome-based’ guidance on QE
Fed policy-makers emphasised importance of balance sheet being used flexibly, minutes show
Economics courses should be mandatory within schools – Mester
Addressing the economics diversity issue at university is too late, Cleveland Fed president says
US may face ‘jobless recovery’ despite huge stimulus
Economists warn fiscal stimulus has been poorly targeted; Ben Bernanke defends Fed policy
People: San Francisco Fed appoints strategy and people officer
Dallas and San Francisco Feds appoint officials; new ECB comms chief takes up role; Bank of Greece adviser to head up payments network
Atlanta Fed creates new mortgage tool to track forbearance
Dashboard will provide policy-makers with data on which regions are using forbearance in response to Covid-19
Hernández de Cos on ECB policy, crises responses and Basel reform
Spanish governor and Basel Committee chair Pablo Hernández de Cos favours a form of average inflation targeting, says ECB is willing to boost stimulus and Basel reforms not diminished by Covid-19 exceptions; stresses the need for structural reform and…
Fed keeps some limits on bank dividends
All banks keep above minimum capital ratios under second round of stress-testing
US Congress strikes stimulus deal with weaker curbs on Fed powers
Previous wording would have prevented Fed from ever recreating the ‘Main Street’ programme
Republican lawmakers seek curbs on Fed’s emergency facilities
Treasury backs lawmakers in bid to insert wording to bar Fed from restarting Covid loan programmes
Fed’s dollar swap lines and ‘Fima’ facility to run nine more months
FOMC keeps main policy tools on hold, but shifts guidance on asset purchases
Fed faces longer-term challenges under new policy strategy
Steve Kamin warns central bank may not have paid enough attention to why r* has fallen
US brands Switzerland a ‘currency manipulator’
Treasury also accuses Vietnam of manipulating exchange rate to gain “unfair competitive advantage”
Federal Reserve joins NGFS
Seven other organisations join as Trump defeat frees Fed to join green network
Quarles: Fed’s supervision should evolve
Fed vice-chair says supervision has not been adequately scrutinised in the past
New Isda ‘fallbacks’ critical to making Libor transition a ‘non-event’
New protocol and supplement offer a transition away from Libor rates in 2021, despite CFTC saying 2,400 companies still exposed and Fed extending some US libor contracts until mid-2023
People: New deputies named in China and Mexico
Plus ECB appoints senior supervisors, and Donald Trump tries to install new OCC chief
The dawn of average inflation targeting
The Fed has failed to explain how it will calculate the ‘average’ for its new AIT framework, raising new risks that central bankers would do well to reflect on
Otmar Issing on the art of central bank communications
EMU architect speaks about Draghi’s “whatever it takes” intervention, forward guidance failures, the Fed’s average inflation target ‘miscommunication’, and why the ECB may be overreaching in its strategy review
Christopher Waller narrowly passes Senate vote
St Louis Fed economist approved for Fed governor role, despite opposition from Democrats
Monetary-fiscal policy co-operation and the ‘slippery slope’
Barry Eichengreen assesses the risks central banks face from their closer links to fiscal policy
Olli Rehn on AIT, market neutrality and EU fiscal policies
The Bank of Finland governor talks about the ECB’s strategy review, market failure on climate change, lessons from the sovereign debt crisis, and the Draghi legacy effect on Covid-19 responses