Central Banking
Bank of Italy: debt-saddled Italian firms struggle to compete in Europe
Bank of Italy paper puts low productivity of non-financial firms in Italy to inherently high indebtedness in the country
IMF’s Shinohara warns EME dominance may lead to imbalance in growth
IMF deputy director Shinohara indicates global imbalances may result from an uneven distribution of growth
Trichet to rally German support for Greek bailout
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet expected to urge German lawmakers to stop dragging their feet over the Greek bailout, markets suffer as uncertainty persists
Fed advice cited in Senate vote against reform bill
Regulatory reform bill falls short of votes required for debate, Republican senator cites message from Fed staff criticising last-minute derivatives provisions
Ireland sets pace with governance reform proposals
The Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland release proposals to end poor practices at financial institutions
Subbarao moots Tobin tax to curb capital inflows
Reserve Bank of India governor Duvvuri Subbarao says all options on the table as it attempts to act on investment influx
Portuguese rating takes double-notch beating
Standard & Poor’s downgrades long-term rating to A- and short-term rating to A-2 on concerns over deteriorating macroeconomic environment, credit default spreads stretch further
Developing countries gain more leverage in World Bank restructuring
Historic package gives developing countries more say in international policy
IMF: dollarisation minimises central bank functions
IMF paper offers guidance on dollarisation of currency using past experiences
Bank reports on impact of quantitative easing
Bank of England asset purchase report shows bank held gilts purchase steady in early 2010 despite marginal sale in corporate bonds
Buba’s Weber: global talks on finance framework essential
Bundesbank President Axel Weber seeks international solution to financial reform using G20 meetings as platform
Central Bank of Iran – Annual Report 2008/09
Oil price declines dominate Iranian report
Hungary cuts as critical opposition sweep to power
National Bank of Hungary trims rates by 25 bps as opposition election victory puts central bank on collision course with incoming government; former governor expected to be named finance minister
China must choose either stable prices or currency: PBoC adviser
Newly-appointed Chinese central bank adviser Zhou Qiren says the central bank cannot have a dual mandate of price and exchange-rate stability
Ex-Sarb Governor Mboweni joins Goldman Sachs
Former South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni becomes the latest former official to join the investment bank
Israel welcomes new law, no sign of rate-setters yet
Bank of Israel law creating a six-member Monetary Committee officially passed and governor Stanley Fischer thanks those who contributed, government has not yet begun search for external members
IMF: Russian housing market vulnerable to external shocks
IMF paper shows house prices in former Soviet countries are vulnerable to foreign capital inflows in open economy model
RBA’s Stevens: Australia’s recovery investment led
Reserve Bank of Australia’s governor also flags the role of intra-region exports
Bank of Canada: Monetary Policy Report April 2009
Bank maintains its benchmark interest rate steady, but report signals plans to begin to lessen the degree of monetary stimulus as the need for extraordinary policy passes
Shirakawa slams inflation-targeting 'fixation'
Bank of Japan governor blames single-minded use of inflation targets for the growth of credit bubbles, says price levels alone do not show health of the economy
Poland succumbs to political pressure and pays more into state coffers
National Bank of Poland could pay almost twice the amount originally offered
UK party leaders lock horns over breaking up banks
Liberal Democrat head supports Bank of England governor Mervyn King’s suggestion of splitting up banks by riskiness; disagreement on bank levies and regulator
US Senate finds rating agencies influenced by banks
Inquiry says conflict of interest between agencies and their customers did influence ratings of mortgage-backed securities
Initial optimism on Greek bailout may falter
Marco Annunziata, the chief economist at UniCredit, examines the reaction to, and implications of, the Greek bailout