Central Banking
Norway’s SWF hit by equity slump
Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global reports small gain as fixed-income investments make up for decline in equity portfolio
Bank of Finland hosts art exhibition
Central bank invited public to view pieces from its extensive art collection; members of the BoF's art club act as guides
Chancellor calls UK bond market a ‘safe haven’
Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne says decline in gilt yields and credit default swaps signal flight to safety of UK bonds
Cyprus edges closer to ‘junk’ rating
Fitch Ratings lowers Cyprus rating to BBB; outlook negative
Denmark reopens temporary collateral facility
National Bank of Denmark expands collateral framework to include shares of 12 listed companies; 20% haircut will be applied to assets
Riksbank increases outreach efforts
The Riksbank is increasing surveillance of funding markets and interbank markets; talks intensify with domestic banks and other central banks
Forbearance incentive is greater among Sifis: IMF paper
Fund study says regulators have strong incentive to forebear systemically important financial institutions
IMF bailouts can raise risk of default: Buba paper
Bundesbank study says IMF loans, on average, increase the probability of default in developing countries
Philly Fed paper on ratings agency failures in subprime market
Philadelphia Federal Reserve study says ratings agencies' AAA-rating of mortgage-backed securities helped spur the subprime mortgage crisis
Financial interlinkages are uniform across Asia region: BoJ paper
Bank of Japan study shows links between Asian nations and global stock markets appear to be homogeneous across countries
Lithuania bucks trend to instead predict higher economic growth
Bank of Lithuania predicts higher economic growth in 2011; Mexico joins UK in lowering forecast
Fed spat over timeline for low rates
Target for federal funds rate kept at 0%-0.25% range until "at least" 2013; three committee members wanted ambiguous wording used on timescale
Bank of Israel looks at post-crisis pension market dynamics
Bank of Israel study says the outlook for investments in Israel’s pension market have become increasingly short-term
Cleveland Fed on merits to indexing loans
A Cleveland Federal Reserve study says indexing loans to aggregate variables can adjust business cycles to more optimal levels
Distinguishing between signs of illiquidity and insolvency: BoJ paper
Bank of Japan study examines how central banks can use lending signals to determine the solvency of firms
Macroprudential measures complement monetary policy: IMF paper
An IMF study says macroprudential policy can work in unison with monetary policy but it is not a direct substitute
BoE offers gloomy UK growth outlook
Bank of England revises downward gross domestic product forecast for 2011 to 2% after “sluggish growth” outlook; governor Mervyn King says future commitment to low interest rates is not an option
Switzerland takes further action to weaken the franc
Swiss National Bank acts again to try and stem appreciation; says it remains poised to take further measures
Chinese inflation hits new high
The National Bureau of Statistics says consumer price inflation in China rose to 6.5% in July, its highest level since June 2008
Former Bank of Thailand deputy governor named finance minister
Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala becomes new finance minister; served as deputy governor at central bank
Nigeria unveils payments system overhaul
Payments system faces complete overhaul in 2012; aim is to reduce reliance on cash
Bank Negara Malaysia deputy governor passes away
Mohd Razif bin Abd Kadir dies; served the central bank for 35 years
RBI governor Subbarao’s term extended
Prime minister approves two-year extension to Duvvuri Subbarao’s term as central bank chief
Fed’s international finance division director leaves
Nathan Sheets leaves the Federal Reserve after 18 years; Steven Kamin to step in as acting director