Research
Banking structures in the new EU Member States
The European Central Bank published a report on Banking structures in the new EU Member States on Tuesday 1 January. The publication has been prepared by the Banking Supervision Committee of the European System of Central Banks.
The Maastricht inflation criterion
According to the ECB Working Paper "The Maastricht inflation criterion: How unpleasant is purgatory?" the Maastricht inflation criterion, designed in the early 1990s to bring "high-inflation" EU countries in line with "low-inflation" countries prior to…
Bank of Canada Monetary Policy Report Update
The Bank of Canada released its Update to the October Monetary Policy Report on 27 January. The Canadian economy is expected to operate a little further below its full production capacity in 2005, according to the update.
The Bank of England Quarterly Model
The Bank of England published a book on Monday 31 January - The Bank of England Quarterly Model - which contains details of the new macroeconomic model developed for use in preparing the Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) quarterly economic projections.
BofE Payment Systems Oversight Report
The Bank of England published its first annual Payment Systems Oversight Report on Monday 31 January. The Report sets out the Bank's role and objectives in relation to oversight of UK payment systems.
BoE paper on low inflation since 1999
In a paper published on Thursday 27 January, 'Why has inflation been so low since 1999?', Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Stephen Nickell said looking to the future, there seems no reason why UK domestic goods price inflation will fall…
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Jan 2005
According to the firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey, January 2005, manufacturing activity in the region continues to expand, but at a slower pace than reported at the end of 2004. Many of the indicators, including general…
UK Discussion paper:supervising financial services
This joint paper by HM Treasury, the Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England says that there is no single or simple way to achieve supervisory convergence and sketches out five related challenges that need to be addressed to make progress on…
Bank of Canada, Business Outlook Survey, Winter 05
The Bank of Canada's Winter 2005 Business Outlook Survey reports that businesses remain positive about the economic outlook but less so than in the autumn survey. The appreciation of the Canadian dollar between the survey periods has heightened…
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, January 2005
The Bank of Japan released the English version of its January 2005 monthly report on 21 January. The report said that the Japanese economy will continue recovering despite some soft patches, leaving its view unchanged from December.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, January 2005
The European Central Bank published its January 2005 Monthly Bulletin on Thursday saying Asian central banks' build-up of currency reserves may prove costly for the economies concerned and could hinder the correction of global current account imbalances.
Federal Reserve Board - Beige Book, January 2005
The Federal Reserve published its January 2005 Beige Book survey on Wednesday 19 January. The report said U.S. economic activity continued to pick up in most of the country in late November through early January, but Cleveland, in the manufacturing…
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Dec 2004
According to the firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey, December 2004, activity in the region's manufacturing sector continues to grow. In this months survey the participants were asked about the impact of the weak dollar on…
Philadelphia Fed Business Review, 4th Quarter 2004
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has published its regular Business Review for the Fourth Quarter 2004. In "Monetary Policy and Inflation Targeting in the United States," President Anthony Santomero returns to the topic of inflation targeting,…
ECB annual quality report on euro area statistics
The European Central Bank on Friday 14 January published a document entitled "Euro area balance of payments and international investment position statistics - Annual quality report". The report includes quantitative indicators developed by a joint ECB …
Danmarks Nationalbank, Monetary Review 4th Q 2004
The Danmarks Nationalbank's Monetary Review for the fourth quarter 2004 includes the articles: Recent economic and monetary trends, Volatility in the overnight money-market rate, The EU Constitutional Treaty and EMU and Transparency in capital markets.
BIS: Asset prices and banking distress
This BIS Working Paper links banking with asset prices in a monetary macroeconomic model. It finds that the effect of falling asset prices is indirect, non-linear, and involves feedback from the banking system in the form of a credit contraction. The…
NZ/Australian banking regulation
In January 2004, New Zealand's Minister of Finance and the Australian Treasurer announced a proposal for closer integration of the prudential regulation of the New Zealand and Australian banking systems. The RBNZ made public on Wednesday 10 January the…
St Louis Fed's Regional Economist, January 2005
The Quarterly Review of Business and Economic Conditions, The Regional Economist, January 2005 edition from the St Louis Fed includes the article "What is driving oil prices?" which looks at the recent rise in oil prices and asks how much has speculation…
New York Fed's Economic Policy Review, Dec 2004
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's December 2004 edition of its Economic Policy Review includes the article, Are home prices the next "bubble"? It assesses two measures frequently cited to support a bubble - the rising price-to-income ratio and the…
The Reform of October '79: How it happened and why
This study in the Federal Reserve's Finance and Economics Discussion Series offers a historical review of the monetary policy reform of October 6, 1979, and discusses the influences behind it and its significance.
ECB's review of the international role of the euro
The European Central Bank published its annual review of the international role of the euro on Friday 7 January. As with previous issues, the review reflects the ongoing efforts of the ECB to monitor and analyse the use of the euro by non-euro area…
The transition to inflation targeting in Romania
In the near future, Romania will introduce inflation targeting and fully liberalize its capital account. This recently published IMF Working Paper analyses how these two profound changes will affect the ability of monetary policy to pursue its objective…
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Jan/Feb 2005
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for January-February 2005 includes a re-publication of William Poole's speech "FOMC Transparency". Also included is an article on "The diffusion of electronic business in the United States" which provides a…