Fiscal policy
Fed won’t set rates to ease debt pressure – Waller
Newest Fed board member stresses central bank autonomy in first public address
BoE’s Tenreyro highlights divergence in UK and US policies
US focused on protecting incomes, while UK protected jobs, MPC member notes
Belize central bank law to allow bigger loans to state
Amendments come amid debt crisis as IMF warns country to defend currency peg
Governor of the year: Alejandro Díaz de León
Díaz de León has upheld the authority, integrity and independence of the Bank of Mexico against significant external and internal pressures
Central Bank of Argentina calls for investigation of IMF agreement
Fund granted South American economy over $57 billion in 2018, its largest-ever package
SNB profit drops by nearly 60%
Swiss central bank records much smaller profits on foreign currency positions
Mário Centeno on monetary-fiscal interaction in the eurozone
Bank of Portugal governor says ECB is not being overrun by former finance ministers, must improve the definition of its inflation target and has no need for yield curve control. Centeno believes NextGenerationEU fund could serve as template for a future…
Eurozone needs fiscal stimulus – ECB’s Schnabel
ECB board member says raising eurozone inflation needs fiscal evolution and structural reform
RBNZ to support government housing objectives
New Zealand finance minister changes central bank’s monetary and financial policy remits
Rich countries must aid poor over Covid-19: Georgieva
IMF chief warns of future financial instability and calls for major aid flows to developing world
Book notes: Capital and ideology, by Thomas Piketty
A political pamphlet like Milton’s ‘Areopagitica’, but longer
Norges Bank’s policy space ‘almost exhausted’ – governor
Norwegian governor warns public spending is increasingly dependent on sovereign wealth fund
Kenya’s central bank transfers $45.6m to government
IMF approves pause in fiscal tightening as Kenyan authorities deal with impact of pandemic
Book notes: Asset management at central banks and monetary authorities, edited by Jacob Bjorheim
This excellent book fills a critical gap existing since IMF guidelines on asset management were revised
Bank of Zambia caught between surging inflation and debt crisis
Central bank hikes policy rate as kwacha falls and fiscal spending overshoots targets
ECCB persuades states to relax fiscal stance
IMF supports move to deal with pandemic’s effects, warning against “drastic fiscal consolidation”
Mexican central bank board cuts policy rate
Rate-setting board unanimously votes for looser policies despite above-target inflation
Riksbank revises up growth and inflation forecasts for 2021
Swedish central bank maintains stimulus; inflation not expected to approach target until 2023
Latin American economies threatened by pandemic resurgence – IMF
Western hemisphere chief warns recovery is uneven and under threat
European central bankers see room for fiscal-monetary co-operation
Pandemic showed it was “critical” for both policies to work together, say central bank governors
Reserve Bank of Australia launches A$100bn in new QE
Australian central bank surprises analysts with easing measure, despite more hopeful macroeconomic forecast
IMF staff lay ground for $1.8 billion loan to Costa Rica
Staff set terms for three-year loan as high debt and Covid-19 take toll; earlier agreement foundered amid public protests
New IMFC chair warns against premature stimulus withdrawal
Magadalena Andersson lays out priorities for the IMF over the coming years
Design flaws in Covid relief package cost millions of jobs – Fed paper
Delay to paycheck protection programme had “very substantial” impact, economists argue