Central Banking
East Asia will take its cue from Fed: Indonesia deputy
Budi Mulya, the deputy governor of Bank Indonesia, says it is crucial the Fed err on the side of caution in withdrawing accommodative measures; East Asia-Pacific region will watch it closely
Austria nationalises failing lender
Austrian government takes over Hypo Group Alpe Adria from state of Bavaria as central bank financial stability report shows tier 1 capital ratios in the sector are set to drop
Mexico shrugs off S&P downgrade
Peso down marginally and Mexican stocks up despite second downgrade in less than a fortnight
Cutting interest rates the best solution: ECB paper
A European Central Bank working paper argues that interest rate cuts and controlled inflation help adverse financial conditions, while simplistic interpretation of Taylor rule does not
Crisis down to global imbalances: Obstfeld, Rogoff
Maurice Obstfeld and Kenneth Rogoff say global imbalances key source of crisis
Bank of England – Quarterly Bulletin
Bank of England says secondary corporate bond market needs more support
Argentina to plunder central bank to pay off debt
Argentine government announces plans to create a fund to repay creditors which would use central bank’s reserves
Nepal to welcome foreign banks: report
Senior central banker quoted as saying Nepal will allow foreign banks to operate in the jurisdiction from the New Year
Kazakhstan latest to step away from dollar
The National Bank of Kazakhstan, which has seen foreign currency reserves drop sharply, shifts towards euro on fears over the dollar’s weakness
Biggest exit barriers political: Buiter
Willem Buiter says main obstacles to exiting unconventional policies
Abu Dhabi bails out Dubai
Richest emirate agrees to provide $10 billion to Dubai World; central bank to support local banks
ECB – Monthly Bulletin (December)
European Central Bank justifies decision to wind down crisis-fighting operations
Fed does not respond to oil price shocks: CEPR paper
CEPR paper argues against the standard view that Fed’s policy responses to oil-price-led inflation caused economic instability
Carstens likely to replace Ortiz as BIS chair
Guillermo Ortiz will step down as chairman of the Bank for International Settlements’ board if he leaves the Bank of Mexico
Zambia’s Fundanga calls for more professionalism
Bank of Zambia’s Caleb Fundanga says the country’s civil service must urgently adopt higher standards of conduct
Nobel laureate Paul Samuelson dies at 94
Paul Samuelson, a key figure in the development of economics, passes away at home in Massachusetts on Sunday
Bubbles a bigger threat than inflation: HKMA’s Chan
Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Norman Chan sees irrational exuberance as greater risk than spiralling prices
Central banks should have control over credit
Two economists argue in support of a role for credit in central banks’ mandate, and analyse the claim that financial crises are “credit booms gone wrong”
Bank of Canada – Financial System Review
Bank of Canada review says overall vulnerability of the system has declined, but individual households are in an increasingly brittle position
Imbalances must be addressed: Trichet
ECB president Trichet points to imbalances in emerging Asian countries and stresses importance of Europe-wide and international cooperation on macroprudential supervision
Ecuador chief and general manager quit
Upheaval at the top of the Central Bank of Ecuador sees Carlos Vallejo and Karina Sáenz depart; cabinet minister Diego Borja is named new governor
Shirakawa on a delicate balancing act
Bank of Japan’s governor notes role of experience in safeguarding stability
Using inflation to erode the US public debt
Paper examines relationship between size of debt and the temptation to inflate
British regulator calls on banks to step up stress tests
British financial regulator beefs up stress test rules; calls on banks to examine business models