Central Banking
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Jan/Feb 2006
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for Jan/Feb 2006 includes the article "The Fed's monetary policy rule" by William Poole. The article "Are the causes of bank distress changing? Can researchers keep up?" says that since 1990, the banking…
Constancio says no specific ECB rate rises planned
The European Central Bank has no specific plans for future monetary policy changes, ECB Governing Council member Vitor Constancio of Portugal said on Wednesday 4 January.
Spain sees risk to economy of house price fall
The risk of a sharp fall in house prices is increasing and could put a brake on Spain's robust economic growth, the Bank of Spain's governor said in a report published on the bank's website.
ECB misses inflation target
The European Central Bank failed to hit its inflation target for the sixth year running last year, according to figures from Eurostat.
Study shows Fed deflation tools can work
The Federal Reserve has several ways to boost the economy even if official U.S. interest rates were ever to hit zero, but the public needs to understand them to make them effective, a new Fed study shows.
PBOC pledges continued improvement on ex rate
The People's Bank of China disclosed the macro-control goals for its monetary policy in 2006 on Thursday 5 January. China's SAFE also revealed plans "to actively explore ways of investing foreign exchange more efficiently".
The Eurosystem, the Union and beyond
The European Central Bank on 27 December published a collection of contributions made on the occasion of the ECB colloquium "The Eurosystem, the Union and Beyond - The single currency and implications for governance", which was held in honour of Tommaso…
IMF to help with GCC monetary union plan
The International Monetary Fund has offered help to GCC countries to proceed with their monetary union plan and has proposed the creation of a body similar to the European Union's Eurostat office to support the project.
China's central bank to issue US$5b in bills
China's central bank will issue up to 40 billion yuan ($4.96 billion) in one-year bills in open market operations on Thursday, down from 45 billion yuan a week earlier, it said on Wednesday 4 January.
ECB paper The timing of central bank communication
This European Central Bank Working Paper explores whether there are systematic patterns as to when members of the decision-making committees of the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the ECB communicate with the public, and under what circumstances…
Fed minutes signpost end to rate hikes
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday 3 January said it considers its 1-1/2 year long policy of raising U.S. interest rates is nearing an end, saying a statement after its December meeting aimed to signal only a few more increases were likely.
Fed can see an end to interest rate increases
Federal Reserve officials may be close to ending the series of interest-rate increases they started 18 months ago, according to this article published on Wednesday 4 January, though they will keep going as long as necessary to combat inflation, it says.
How the RMB revaluation will play out in 2006
According to this article, China's RMB will continue the gradual pace of its appreciation in the next 12 months despite the recent flurry of policy manoeuvring to increase forex flexibility.
ECB's Quaden says rates supportive
Eurozone interest rates of 2.25 percent are still supportive of economic growth, European Central Bank Governing Council member Guy Quaden told Belgian magazine Tendances Trends on Thursday 29 December.
Bank of Italy's Draghi to start mid-Jan
The Bank of Italy said on Wednesday 4 January that its newly appointed governor Mario Draghi is expected to take up his job in mid-January.
Redesigned BIS website now live
The Bank for International Settlements relaunched its website on Wednesday 4 January.
Lord Woolf chairs Financial Markets Law Committee
The Bank of England announced on Tuesday 20 December the appointment of Lord Woolf as Chairman of the Financial Markets Law Committee (FMLC), beginning 1 February 2006.
Dirk Witteveen to chair Joint Forum
The Joint Forum's parent organisations announced on Wednesday 21 December the appointment of Dirk Witteveen as chair of the Joint Forum for a two-year term beginning January 2006.
IFSRA announces new Chief Executive
The Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority announced on Friday 16 December that Patrick Neary has been appointed to the post of Chief Executive.
Interview with ECB's Otmar Issing
In comments published on Monday 19 December, European Central Bank Executive Board member Otmar Issing said even if it is not in line with the spirit of the Treaty, he expects "voices" on the ECB's policy to continue, although not at the level we have…
Interview with ECB's Lucas Papademos
Lucas Papademos, vice president of the European Central Bank, said in comments published on Monday 19 December that labour market inflexibility meant that Eurozone countries are at risk of inflation accelerating even as unemployment remains …
Review of the international role of the euro
The European Central Bank published its fifth annual review of the international role of the euro on Wednesday 21 December, focusing on developments between mid-2004 and mid-2005.
Scandals spotlight Italy's regulatory cracks
According to this article published on Wednesday 21 December, Bank of Italy Governor Antonio Fazio's resignation has highlighted the deep problems in Italy's regulatory structure - a system of feeble financial controls which Fazio spent his last months…
Size matters and China just got much bigger
According to this article published on Wednesday 21 December, China, an economy few central bankers, economists and pundits thought about three years ago just leapfrogged over the UK, France and Italy to become the world's fourth largest.