Central Banking
Comment: Central banks "shouldn't supervise"
In a speech on Thursday, Howard Davies, who served for two years as deputy governor of the Bank of England and as special adviser to the chancellor of the exchequer, and who is currently director of the London School of Economics, argued that a…
ECB's Issing on mortgage markets & monetary policy
In the speech 'Mortgage markets and monetary policy: a central banker's view' given on 23 November Otmar Issing of the ECB said the ECB will be able to avoid sharp rises in interest rates if markets have faith in its ability to keep inflation under…
Bollard on monetary policy & economic performance
In the paper 'Monetary policy and economic performance: The experience of New Zealand' presented on 15 November at the conference commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Banco de Mexico Alan Bollard said over the past five years, New Zealand has been a…
Norway's Bergo on monetary policy
In the speech 'Monetary policy and the cyclical situation' given on 23 November Jarle Bergo of Norges Bank said developments ahead are uncertain and the Norwegian economy may be exposed to shocks.
Sweden's Bergstrom on the labour market
In the speech 'The labour market and wage formation' given on 22 November Villy Bergstrom of the Sveriges Riksbank said developments in the labour market have been weak despite several years' firm economic growth.
St Louis's Poole on the US current account deficit
In the speech 'How dangerous is the U.S. current account deficit?' given on 9 November William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said the situation facing the United States is deeply different from that facing nations that have experienced…
Mervyn the weatherman
Does Mervyn King prefer isobars to interest rates? In an appearance before the Treasury Committee on Thursday 24 November, the governor of the Bank of England revealed his interest in one of the few professions which can compete with economists on the…
Comment: Bank Indonesia wins praise
The oil price increase has caused headaches for monetary policy-makers around the world but has posed particular challenges for developing economies such as Indonesia, which operates an extensive system of oil subsidies.
BoJ minutes show talk on best deflation gauge
The nine members of the Bank of Japan's policy board discussed whether the consumer price index is the best indicator to gauge an end to deflation, according to minutes of the meeting released Thursday 24 November.
BoE's Nickell sees UK interest rate freeze
The prospect of interest rates in the UK remaining unchanged over the coming months increased when a leading Bank of England official was quoted as saying no further changes are required.
ECB's Caruana expects moderate rate rise
European Central Bank Governing Council Member Jaime Caruana echoed comments from some other ECB officials on Thursday 24 November when he said he expects a "moderate" rise in eurozone interest rates.
EU plans Bank of Italy legal action
The European Commission will begin legal action against the Bank of Italy next month over its handling of recent bank mergers involving foreign bids, Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said on Thursday 24 November.
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, October 05
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for October 2005 was +0.73 up from -0.82 in September. All four broad categories of indicators that make up the index made positive contributions.
Financial supervision & central bank independence
The Working Paper "Financial supervision fragmentation and central bank independence: The two sides of the same coin?" analyses how the central banks role in the monetary institutional setting can affect the unification process of the overall financial…
Sveriges Riksbank, Financial Stability Report 2:05
Sweden's central bank, the Sveriges Riksbank, has published its second Financial Stability Report for 2005. Currently, there is nothing to indicate that the Swedish banks will have any serious problems with loan losses or profitability in the coming two…
SARB's Mboweni on the rand and hot money outflows
In the speech 'How exposed is the rand to the potential outflow of hot money?' given on 21 November Tito Mboweni of the South African Reserve Bank said there are a number of indicators that provide some comfort that the South African economy is coping…
ECB's Trichet on Eurasia: Bull meets tiger
In the speech 'Eurasia: Bull meets tiger - Panel III - Financial markets: Shared responsibility' given on 18 November Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said the experiences of Europe and the Asia-Pacific region with regard to regional surveillance present…
Bank of England voted 9-0 to hold rates
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously for a third month in November to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged, according to minutes released on Wednesday 23 November.
US rate outlook may change `before long'
Federal Reserve policy makers discussed the need ``before long'' to alter their outlook for U.S. interest rates, with some FOMC members concerned about the risk of raising it too much, minutes of their 1 November meeting showed.
Forex pegging may be counterproductive says Dodge
Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge said in previously private remarks to the Bank of France on November 4 that pegging a country's foreign exchange rate could hinder macroeconomic adjustment.
BoE's Barker sees improved consumer spending
Consumer spending should improve by the middle of 2006, Bank of England policymaker Kate Barker said on Tuesday 22 November.
China could use more yuan flexibility says IMF
The International Monetary Fund urged China to follow up the July reforms to its currency regime on Monday 21 November by allowing market forces to exert more influence on the value of the yuan.
Fukui says BOJ will decide policy shift alone
The Bank of Japan will take full responsibility in deciding when to end its ultra-easy monetary policy, while maintaining close contact with the government, BOJ Governor Toshihiko Fukui was quoted as saying on Wednesday 23 November.
Comment: ECB's strategy risks confusion
Jean-Claude Trichet's recent comments have effectively shifted the debate from whether or not the ECB will raise interest rates, to how aggressive and how persistent future rate hikes will be. The ECB's strategy raises a number of questions.