Euro
Reserve managers continue push into diverse currencies
Latest data from the IMF shows non-traditional reserve currencies continue to see their share of global reserve holdings grow; sterling, yen and the Swiss franc fall in favour
National Bank of Belgium weighs reduction in one and two cent coins
Belgian central bank considers merits of allowing traders to round cash and electronic payments to the nearest five cents in a bid to render one and two cent coins ‘unnecessary’
Latvia central bank brings rates and rules in line with eurozone
Bank of Latvia slashes rates to match ECB's ultra-low 0.25%; economists say the move, along with new regulations, was designed purely to ready the country to join the eurozone in January
ECB to house new SSM in old ‘Eurotower’
Central bank decides to use existing headquarters for around 1,000 new staff responsible for single supervisory mechanism; plans being implemented to avoid overflow while new tower is completed
Reserve managers continue advance into Canadian and Australian dollars
IMF's latest Cofer data displays increasing popularity of Canadian and Australian currencies as reserve assets, while the euro reverses a previous decline
Euro crisis will leave Greece stronger, says Herbert Grubel
Membership of a currency union initially failed to force Greece to reform its economy but the country is now set to emerge from the crisis unshackled from former vested interests; the case of Greece may offer lessons for other democracies
A turning point for Greece and the euro
The seeds of Greece’s financial crisis are also present in many other modern democracies, writes Herbert Grubel. Currency union offers a politically expedient way to prevent such crises
Financial crisis caused significant shift in the euro area Beveridge curve
ECB paper finds that labour market consequences of the crisis have been heterogeneous across countries, with Spain and Germany diverging the most
ECB's Cœuré defends OMTs in Berlin speech
Executive board member tells German audience that OMTs do not remove the incentive from governments to reform, and says risk transfer within the monetary union is unavoidable anyway
German voters want to keep the euro - but not to save it, poll finds
Two-thirds do not believe the next chancellor has mandate to support eurozone countries financially after the September 22 elections; a third supports break up of eurozone and return to deutschmark
Sovereign default spreads drove European bank risk exposures during crisis
Systemic risk of European banks reached its height in late 2011 at around €500 billion, based on a measure introduced in a recent Fed working paper
Sector-specific variables more relevant than thought in determining default risk
The effect and magnitude of risk drivers across sectors is highly heterogeneous, which should be taken into account when designing stress-testing analytical tools, research paper argues
‘Striking similarities' between eurozone and the pre-1914 gold standard
Both monetary arrangements provide underdeveloped peripheral countries with easy access to capital from the core countries, triggering asset price booms via the banking system in peripheral countries
Monetary union leads to too much fiscal discipline, research paper finds
Paul de Grauwe and Yuemei Ji argue that sovereignty lost with the creation of the eurozone prompted dramatic effects that were largely overlooked by the currency area's designers
IMF reports show French and German banking sectors are key to European stability
IMF urges France to do away with tax disincentives to deposits in an effort to broaden banks' funding sources; emphasises Germany's role in forging a robust eurozone financial architecture
Polish economists call for dismantling of eurozone, and new role for ECB
Former Polish vice-minister of finance and bank chief economiss call for Germany to lead an exodus of the eurozone's strongest economies, to save the European Union
Euro's international role hampered by continued fragmentation
ECB study finds reserve manager confidence in the euro is recovering, but a leading fund manager says the euro cannot challenge the pre-eminence of the dollar without issuing federal bonds
Eurozone’s unique policy framework creates communication confusion, ECB paper shows
Political communication has a quantifiable effect on sovereign bond spreads – at least in the short term, authors argue
Croatian membership boosts ECB capital
Croatia’s central bank has joined the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), with governor Boris Vujčić taking his place on the ECB’s general council
Latvia to adopt euro in 2014
European Commission gives Latvia the green light to become eighteenth eurozone member after it comfortably meets convergence criteria, but ECB voices concerns over price and financial stability
Germans clash over banking union treaty change
ECB board member opposes German finance minister's plan to introduce limited version of banking union to allow time for treaty change
Icelandic finance minister backs euro switch
Katrín Júlíusdóttir says adopting euro could help to restrain inflation and boost investment; Central Bank of Iceland publishes annual report
CNB paper formulates optimal policy for transition to euro
Working paper examines how Czech monetary policy should respond to uncertainty during the transition to the euro; finds exchange rate should be stabilised if transition is likely to be long