Central Banking
RBA’s Stevens on need for productivity-driven growth
Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens says Australia should capitalise on its good terms of trade and boost productivity growth
College drop-out rate is strongly correlated to income: Boston Fed
Boston Federal Reserve study shows poor students are 27% more likely to drop out of college than wealthier students
Hungary holds as inflation moves closer to target: minutes
National Bank of Hungary minutes shows decline in inflation suggested return to 3% target would not necessitate a monetary tightening
Microfinance lenders' global exposure increasing: IMF paper
Fund study shows that microfinance lenders are becoming more affected by events in international markets post-crisis
Afghanistan denies oversight failures
Afghanistan’s government defends itself against claims it failed to co-operate with auditors to safeguard US funds; says relationship with US watchdog is “strained”
Robert Mundell: How to save the euro
Nobel laureate Robert Mundell says eurozone can be saved with three-pronged policy solution, ‘for the short run, intermediate run and long run’
Political impasse raises US default concerns
As the August 2 deadline to raise the US debt ceiling looms, Blair Baker looks at what the prospect of a default in the US means for the world and whether the Fed can play a pivotal role in Washington
Hawkish RBI in ‘surprise’ rate hike
Reserve Bank of India shocks markets with 50-basis point rate hike in a bid to curb rising inflationary pressures; further rate hikes expected this year
CIC adopts more bullish investment strategy
China Investment Corporation 2010 Annual Report shows major shift in sovereign wealth fund's investment strategy towards equities and alternative assets
South Korea monetary policy talks between government and central bank
Finance ministry official meets with central bank deputy governor to discuss macroeconomic policy; fears central bank may be losing independence
BoJ’s Shirakawa says ‘rebuilding demand’ will foster growth
Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa says that while supply-side constraints are vital to the recovery in Japan, 'demand-side' factors were necessary to drive growth in the near term
Risky lending driven by largest banks: ECB paper
European Central Bank study shows that larger banks are the most likely to apply aggressive pricing strategies in syndicated loan markets
BoE paper identifies drivers of energy price volatility
Bank of England study says risk premium and productivity shocks operated in inverse directions on inflation in the UK
St Louis Fed paper observes high government reallocation costs
St Louis Federal Reserve study says governments come up against high capital and labour reallocation costs when responding to a negative demand shock
Markets turn to periphery in wake of Greek package
Yields on Spanish and Italian debt edge higher as markets remain uncertain over the wider impact of Greece's bailout on peripheral countries
HKMA misses design fault on new banknote
Hong Kong Monetary Authority forced to apologise for design flaw on new HK$100 banknote; cost of re-design and re-prints will be covered by banknote designer HSBC
Target 2 experiences three-hour outage
Target 2 payments system down for three hours on Monday morning; European Central Bank says source of interruption is as yet unexplained
ABS markets influential on composition of international debt markets: ECB report
European Central Bank study on asset-backed securities markets provides valuable insight into the currency composition of international debt markets
Australia’s economic performance not all down to luck: RBA’s Edey
Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor Malcolm Edey says good luck and good management played a role in Australia’s strong economic performance in recent years
Canada’s Macklem on regulating the shadow banking sector
Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Tiff Macklem says regulation must be aware of impact higher bank liquidity and capital standards will have on incentives for arbitrage
Emerging markets influence on global trade trends: IMF report
Fund study links shifts in global trade patterns to greater interconnectedness and concentration of emerging markets
Irish government sells share in Bank of Ireland
Ireland to sell €1.1 billion stake in Bank of Ireland; taxpayers to make 10.25% return from preference shares and 10% gain from contingent capital at bank
Fitch sees default ahead for Greece
Rating agency says Greece will default on its debt after European heads of state agree on €109 billion bailout plan for Greece with private sector involvement and more scope for EFSF assistance
Philippines introduces new financial reporting rules
Central Bank of Philippines revises guidelines on financial reporting to improve stability of financial institutions; new rules bring Philippines into line with international standards