Central Banking
Goodfriend: Fed's fiscal statement does not go far enough
The Federal Reserve's attempt to clarify its stability role is a move in the right direction, but must be improved upon
Zhou warns against trust in external ratings
Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People's Bank of China, voiced concern about the role of rating agencies in an essay posted on the central bank's website.
Zimbabwean prices stabilise after dollarisation
Zimbabwe's Central Statistical Office has announced that prices in the ravaged Southern African nation have started to fall since the adoption of the US dollar.
When will the sovereigns return - and how?
Participants in a conference on the management of sovereign assets and reserves, hosted by Central Banking Publications, were split over when public investors will regain their appetite for risk following significant losses during the current financial…
Fed's Stern: recession could end in mid-2009
In one of the most bullish assessments of the state of the US economy by an official of the Federal Reserve since the start of the crisis, Gary Stern, the long-serving president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said that the recovery could…
Atlanta's Lockhart: exports won't save US
Dennis Lockhart, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, does not expect a sudden return of exports as a driver of recovery in the United States in the remainder of 2009.
Sharp decline in inflation a plus - RBI's Subbarao
The sharp decline of India's headline inflation is an advantage for the country's policymakers as they respond to the current economic conditions, said Duvvuri Subbarao, the governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
Data on home-host banking activity inadequate
Data on international banking activity remain largely inadequate for surveillance and policymaking purposes, new research from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) posits.
Geithner outlines regulatory overhaul
Tim Geithner, the US Treasury secretary, sounded the knell of light-touch regulation on Thursday, outlining a reform agenda that if passed will see a single systemic-risk supervisor clamp down on all financial firms deemed either too big, or too…
Former Hungarian governor frontrunner for premier
Gyorgy Suranyi, a former governor of the National Bank of Hungary, is seen as a frontrunner to become the next prime minister of the eastern European state.
Geithner open to Zhou suggestion, but backs buck
Tim Geithner, the US Treasury secretary, said on Wednesday that he was open to People's Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan's suggestion of expanding the use of special drawing rights (SDRs) but affirmed the dollar's strength.
Basel Committee's Praet on the future of regulation
Peter Praet, an executive director at the National Bank of Belgium and a member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, offers some pointers on how global leaders should formulate their regulatory response to the crisis.
Wellink eyes caps on bonuses and hedge funds
Nout Wellink, the chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and president of the Netherlands Bank, has called for international principles for bonuses and financial sector pay.
ECB's Papademos calls for macroprudential schema
The establishment of a framework for macroprudential supervision is urgently needed, said Lucas Papademos, the vice president of the European Central Bank.
More interest-rate info from Chile's De Gregorio
As part of its process of increasing transparency, the Central Bank of Chile has improved the level of detail of interest rate information being made available, said Jose De Gregorio, the governor of the Central Bank of Chile.
BoJ's Yamaguchi: private sector key driver
Fiscal and monetary policies are no more than a crutch to facilitate adjustments in and the positive efforts of the private sector, said Hirohide Yamaguchi, a deputy governor of the Bank of Japan.
Inflation-targeting regime improves policy
During the Bank of England's inflation-targeting regime, monetary policy shocks have been more muted and inflation expectations have been lower than before, a new paper from the central bank posits.
European banks to drop interchange fees by 2012
The European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) have told European banks to get rid of interchange fees on direct debit transactions by 31 October 2012 under EU antitrust rules.
IMF to loan Romania $17.5 billion
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed a $17.5 billion loan to Romania to cushion the rapid withdrawal of capital from the eastern European economy.
Spain's Vinals to succeed Caruana at IMF
Jose Vinals, is the new director of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) monetary and capital markets department, replacing Jaime Caruana, now general manager of the Bank for International Settlements.
A guide for would-be MPC members
An ability to challenge convention, courage in one's convictions and a thick skin are some of the qualities essential for Monetary Policy Committee members, two external members of the Bank of England's committee have said.
Calls for Bank to retake control of regulation
The leader of Britain's main opposition party wants the Bank of England to regain its role in regulating the overall level of debt in the banking system.
AIG cited as case for shadow-bank rules
The American International Group (AIG) situation highlights the need for strong, effective consolidated supervision of all systemically-important financial firms, said Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Shirakawa terms measures "extremely extraordinary"
The Bank of Japan's decision earlier this month to directly provide quasi-capital funds to banks through subordinated loans was an "extremely extraordinary" measure, Masaaki Shirakawa, the governor of the central bank, has emphasised.