Inflation
British bonds rest on “a bed of nitroglycerine”: Pimco chief
Head of biggest bond fund sees investors penalising gilts as British attachment to quantitative easing stirs worry that government seeks to inflate debt away
BoE study justifies interest-rate cuts
Bank of England research finds rate cuts warranted as risks of high rates outweigh the cost of short term inflation
Norges Bank’s Gjedrem on rate decisions
Svein Gjedrem offers cautious outlook for growth following rate decision last week
Fed’s Kohn attacks higher inflation targets
Federal Reserve vice chairman also dismissive of price-level targeting; admits central bankers were “a little complacent” pre-crisis
Fed: smaller optimal weight should be placed on rental price inflation
San Francisco Fed paper suggests that nature of rental prices warrants change in the way inflation is measured
Bank explains UK housing bubble
Bank of England study links rising house prices to lower real long-term rates and lower inflation in the run up to the bubble
Yellen: Fed won’t inflate debt away
San Francisco Fed’s Janet Yellen tells LA town hall inflation will not run rampant so long as Fed retains independence
The end is nigh for the eurozone over Greece
Economists Geoffrey Wood and Charles Dumas say the Greek debt crisis is set to tear asunder Europe’s poorly built Economic and Monetary Union, split over IMF bailout
IMF calls for Zimbabwe to scrap governing board
Fund acknowledges success of multi-currency regime at close of Article IV consultation
Lockhart: Fed inflation anchor under threat
Atlanta Fed’s Dennis Lockhart warns that inflation expectations may be dislodged as a result of accommodative Fed stance
RBA: price stickiness overstated in traditional models
Reserve Bank of Australia study shows New-Keynesian Phillips Curve overstates the degree of price stickiness in macro models.
BoJ makes small concessions to government
Minutes from Bank of Japan’s February policy meeting show divide between policymakers on strength of economy, analysts say central stance unchanged
The bitter divide on inflation targeting
Economists are split over a recent suggestion that central banks should raise their inflation targets to allow more room for cuts in crises
King sees “room for improvement” in Bank’s communication
Bank of England governor Mervyn King defends the central bank’s fan charts, which have drawn criticism, but says it can still refine the communication of its forecasts
India surprises with 25 basis point hike
Reserve Bank of India ups key and repo rates as inflation bursts through 8.5% ceiling
Fullani: reassures parliament on steady recovery
Bank of Albania governor Ardian Fullani reassures lawmakers of continued growth following IMF performance review
BOE paper: inflation co-movement linked to globalisation
New study into co-movement in inflation across industrialised countries links low-inflation rates to falling commodities prices
BoE’s Sentance: rate policy to offset fiscal tightening
Bank of England’s Andrew Sentance says monetary policy can compensate for the negative impact of fiscal tightening on demand
RBA reviews the way it measures CPI
A report by the RBA proposes changes to the way future CPI is reported and measured
BoE unanimously backed rate hold
The Bank keeps rates steady as the MPC remains cautious over the road to recovery
Iceland trims rates on króna strength
Central Bank of Iceland cuts to 9% despite fears over Icesave dispute
RBA justifies March rate hike
Signs of revival in economic activity convinced board members to hike rates by a quarter point
New BoK head sparks independence fears
Surprise choice of OECD representative Kim Choong-soo seen as way for government to exert control over central bank
China’s Zhou not flustered by higher-than-forecast inflation
People’s Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan keeps a cool head as inflation increases by more than expected spooking analysts and markets, says central bank will keep to plans