Central Banking
Bank Indonesia plans rupiah redenomination: reports
Bank Indonesia acting governor Darmin Nasution says redenomination of the currency should be inflation neutral
South Africa in fresh attempt to curb rand volatility
Ruling African National Congress will consider short-term capital inflows tax to curb rand volatility, currency’s strength; party questions merits of Sarb’s hard-won inflation targeting regime
PBoC announces plans to deregulate gold market
People’s Bank of China says it will provide more commercial banks with access to global gold markets to address growing demand
Bank’s macro model takes a bruising
Former Bank of England economist says model misjudges trade-off between growth and inflation
Northern Rock’s bad bank posts first profit
Northern Rock Asset Management shows $267m profit for first half of year as split with so-called “good bank” lowers costs of funding; FSA slaps RBS with $9m fine for screening failures
China now world’s second-largest economy, says PBoC’s Yi
People’s Bank of China vice governor Yi Gang says China has overtaken Japan
Greece’s fiscal situation far worse than US: Atlanta Fed
Atlanta Federal Reserve study says Greece’s fiscal debts more worrisome than the United States’s
IMF: European debt measurements misleading policies
Fund study says European Union spending cuts neglect impact of policies on future
IMF: democracies outpace autocracies following commodity boom
Fund study shows following an international commodity boom, growth tends to increase in emerging market democracies, but decrease in autocracies
National Bank of Slovakia – Financial Stability Report (2009)
National Bank of Slovakia’s Financial Stability Report for last year says risks to economy largely in household sector
Ex-deputy Muto endorses Bank of Japan’s anti-inflation targeting stance
Former Bank of Japan deputy governor Toshiro Muto says introducing inflation targets, as government wishes, will not cure deflation; analysts agree
Bear bailout vehicle turns first paper profit
Federal Reserve balance sheet data shows Bear Stearns’ assets held in Maiden Lane vehicle made a paper profit for first time since its inception
Argentina dips into central bank profit to finance expenditure
Central Bank of Argentina transfers $760m from last year’s profits to government to find expenditure; government unwilling to tap bond markets until yields come down sufficiently
Malawi cuts for first time in three years
Reserve Bank of Malawi implements two percentage point cut to key rate as inflation moderates; food price inflation wanes as shortages begin to abate
First FSAP for US flags commercial real estate woes
The US banking system at risk from commercial real estate woes, the IMF’s first Financial Sector Assessment Programme says
Philosopher says financial crisis puts economics profession into disrepute
Philosopher Philip Mirowski says economists’ outdated theories had a large hand in fueling the financial crisis
BIS: Global banking at a crossroads
Bank for International Settlements study says financial crisis has changed the model for international banking
Turkey: Manufacturing sector very sensitive to monetary tightening
Central Bank of Turkey study shows monetary tightening impacts some areas of the economy more than others
Boston Fed: Real rigidities dampen exchange rate shocks
Boston Federal Reserve study on price rigidities shows intense price competition leads to weak pass-through effects when there is an exchange rate shock
Fed’s Bullard calls for further QE
St Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard says United States must commit to further stimulus if it wants to avoid a deflationary trap like Japan
Refining the BoJ’s operating model
In the third of a six-part series on the Japanese economy, Robert Pringle reports from Tokyo on how the crisis has impacted the nation’s global outlook
CIC’s profits soar by 81%
China Investment Corporation records gains of $41.6 billion
Argentina may raise deposit ratio in latest attempt to curb money growth: reports
Governor thought to be keen on ten percentage point rise in proportion of deposits lenders must place in central bank coffers
BoJ: productivity underestimated during expansions
Bank of Japan study into labour productivity revisions shows productivity growth is often underestimated during expansions