Central Banking
South Africa's Mboweni outlines inflation threats
Tito Mboweni, the governor of the South African Reserve Bank, has identified union-driven salary disputes and increasing food and oil prices as the main threats to the current inflation outlook in the country.
Rates on hold in Canada, Slovakia and Malaysia
A number of central banks have announced this week that interest rates will remain unchanged. Rates will remain on hold in Canada, Slovakia and Malaysia.
Israeli rates cut again
The Bank of Israel has cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.5%. The decision, announced on 28 May, comes as inflation remains below the central bank's 1 to 3% inflation target.
Ingves: The Riksbank and the Swedish economy
In this speech, Stefan Ingves, the governor of the Swedish Riksbank, outlines the recent changes the central bank has made to its communications strategy.
New IMF Survey
The latest IMF Survey includes articles on the Fund's role in exchange rate surveillance, the conclusions of its most recent "Global Financial Stability Report", and the economic outlook for Belgium, the Middle East and Central Asia.
CB independence under threat in New Zealand
According to this note by a New Zealand-based economic research company, Allan Bollard, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zealand, has adopted an experimental "go for growth" monetary policy strategy. A move away from this approach could make the…
Bini Smaghi on "secondary objectives"
In his speech 'With or Without Prejudice to Price Stability? , Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, discusses what the central bank can do to achieve its so-called secondary objectives of monetary policy.
Henrique Meirelles: central banking natural
This article, from the International Herald Tribune, says Henrique Meirelles, the governor of the Central Bank of Brazil, has quickly mastered the central bankers' art of elusive communication.
New challenges for central bankers
In this speech, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, says central bankers need to look beyond a single price index in the objectives to ensure economic and price stability.
The importance of monetary aggregates
This ECB working paper presents a strong argument in favour of using monetary aggregates as an analytical tool for predicting future inflation.
Why is the dollar so high?'
In this paper, Martin Feldstein, once considered a frontrunner to replace Alan Greenspan as chairman of the US Federal Reserve, argues that a decline of the real value of the dollar that is large enough to reduce the current account deficit significantly…
Estimating potential output - Fed's Mishkin
In this speech, Frederic Mishkin, a governor at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, provides a non-technical overview of academic research on the estimation of potential output, and important concept in monetary policy analysis.
New names for WB presidency
Some interesting names are being bandied about as potential replacements for Paul Wolfowitz as president of the World Bank, when he steps down next month.
Turkey's Yilmaz issues inflation warning
Inflation is expected to exceed the 4% target set by the government for the end of the year, Durmus Yilmaz, the governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, has told the country's cabinet.
Eurozone business confidence dips
Analysts are suggesting that business confidence in the euro area may have peaked. The May figure for the widely-watched Ifo index was unchanged from a month earlier for Germany, but somewhat lower for France and Italy.
FSA issues hedge fund guidelines
In the latest development surrounding the regulation of hedge funds, the British Financial Services Authority (FSA) has issued guidelines clarifying its approach in four important areas of hedge fund regulation.
Japanese consumers to keep economy floating
The International Monetary Fund predicts an economic expansion in Japan of 2.3% this year, followed by 1.9% in 2008.
The future of UK regulation
In this speech, Dan Waters, director of Retail Policy at the Financial Services Authority, provides an overview of the main principles and applications of the authority's much-praised "principles-based" supervision.
A user's guide to derivatives data
This research note by US Federal Reserve discusses the potential use of newly-collected data on cross-border derivatives.
The Fund's changing role in Asia
In this speech, David Burton, director of the Asia & Pacific Department of the IMF, points out how the Fund's role in Asia has changed since the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and 1998.
Shareholders call for investigation on ABN Amro
A Dutch shareholders association has asked the European Internal Market Commissioner, Charlie McCreevy, to investigate the Dutch central bank's recent actions in the ongoing takeover battle for ABN Amro.
New Riksbank Financial Stability Report
The Swedish Riksbank released its latest Financial Stability Report on 24 May. The central bank concludes that "profitability of the Swedish banks has continued to rise" and that they are in "a good position to cope with unexpected negative events."
World on the brink of higher inflation - OECD
Citing strong domestic demand as the main factor driving prices upward, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says central banks should "err on the side of tightness" in the face of inflationary pressure.
Germany defends ECB focus on money growth
Germany's Bundesbank has come out in stout defence of the European Central Bank, arguing that money supply figures - used by the ECB in making interest rate decisions - are helpful in identifying property market distortions.