Central Banking
Finland downgrades 2009 forecast
Bank of Finland says it now expects economy to shrink by 7.2% this year
Hong Kong’s future intertwined with renminbi: Yam
In his farewell address, Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Joseph Yam says the financial centre’s future is linked with liberalisation of the mainland
Review, reflect and reaffirm: Canada’s Carney
Bank of Canada’s Mark Carney notes improvement in economic conditions but emphasises the need to remain alert
Bundesbank caps gold sales for next year at 6.5 tonnes
Germany’s central bank limits gold sales for the next twelve months at 6.5 tonnes under Central Banks’ Gold Agreement
Macro still has a lot to offer: Chile’s De Gregorio
Macro models must be refined to incorporate what we now know to reduce the risk of future crises, says governor of Central Bank of Chile
Bailout announcements agitated markets, shows IMF study
IMF working paper shows bailout decisions aggravated inter-bank markets, and argues for a coordinated policy response to restore global confidence
Malaysia, Hong Kong pledge to develop Islamic finance
Malaysia’s central bank signs memorandum to develop Islamic finance with Hong Kong’s Monetary Authority
Real effects of banking crises: a literature review
Bank of Italy examines trends in research on banking crises
Buba’s Weber charts history of regulation
History points to regulation’s frailties, notes Bundesbank’s Axel Weber
Fed will fail to land systemic risk role, Zoellick predicts
World Bank’s Robert Zoellick says Fed will not get systemic risk role, moots Treasury. Sees renminbi, euro strengthen reserve status
G20 pledges to tackle imbalances
Global imbalances take precedence over regulation in regulation in communiqué
Bank publishes payments oversight rules
Bank of England extends Core Principles in checklist for how payments systems should be run post-crisis
Volcker: narrower role would make Fed too detached
Paul Volcker says removing supervision from Fed’s ambit would risk turning central bank into “academic seminar”
Fed audit would damage economy: counsel Alvarez
Federal Reserve lawyer defends central bank against lawmakers’ attempts to scrutinise its monetary operations
IMF should move to Europe: ex research head
Simon Johnson suggests switching headquarters to Europe as means to break deadlock on quotas
Flexible targeting still best practice: Riksbank’s Svensson
Lars Svensson, Deputy Governor of Sweden’s Riksbank, says impact of finance on monetary transmission mechanism must be better understood
Interventions helped creditors not shareholders
Bank for International Settlements reviews market reaction to bank rescue packages during the crisis
Buba’s Zeitler: regulatory capital a key issue
Bundesbank’s Franz-Christoph Zeitler commends capital measures but warns implementation should not occur until after the crisis is at an end
Geithner optimistic on China boosting demand
US Treasury secretary Tim Geithner says China’s commitments “credible” on boosting domestic demand
Risk role presents new challenge: ECB’s Bini Smaghi
European Central Bank’s Lorenzo Bini Smaghi notes issuing risk warnings will mark a departure in central banks’ usual practice of targeting the middle ground
Fed decision depresses markets despite positive outlook
Federal Open Market Committee sees improvement in economy, but its decision to slow purchases of mortgage-related debt hits confidence and divides analysts
Iceland cuts overnight rate, looks ahead to removing capital controls
Icelandic Monetary Policy Committee votes to cut only overnight lending rate, cites “encouraging signs”
Subprimes didn’t perform worse than prime loans: Philadelphia Fed
Philadelphia Fed’s loans data analysis yields unexpected results
Monetary policy must inspire confidence to counter debt fears
Kate Barker, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, argues central bank must be sensitive to changes in attitudes towards debt and investment