Inflation
Chinese inflation spike scares investors
Chinese consumer prices rise more than consensus forecast in February, sparking fears that the economy is overheating
Rate round-up
Swiss, New Zealand, Korean and Peruvian central banks all opt to hold rates
UK public’s price expectations moderately rise
GfK NOP survey on inflation attitudes from the Bank of England shows expectations remain stable
RBA’s Lowe latest to dismiss inflation target hikes
Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor Philip Lowe says IMF paper’s suggestion of raising inflation targets not sensible, says higher targets would damage supply side
BoJ’s Nakamura declares ordinary policy tools redundant
In a high profile speech in Fukuoka last month, Bank of Japan’s Seiji Nakamura tells business leaders that ordinary channels of the transmission mechanism are not working
Volcker lambasts higher inflation targets
Former Fed chairman Paul Volcker calls the suggestion that inflation targets should be raised to about 4% “nonsense”; points to the difficulties of the 1980s
Bank of Japan Review – Measuring potential growth in Japan
Bank of Japan review notes difficulties with various methods used to forecast growth, says potential shortcoming should be at the fore of policymakers’ minds
Malaysia hikes as recession ends in emerging Asia
Bank Negara Malaysia raises its key rate by a quarter percentage point, citing stronger than forecast growth results in emerging Asia
Ghana’s Amissah-Arthur explains early 2009 hike
Bank of Ghana governor Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur says the West African country’s government has made vital progress in cutting spending, allowing key rates to be lowered
Real-time activity index shows depth of recession
Philadelphia Fed paper constructs index of real-time macroeconomic information, showing that the recent recession was defined by its severity relative to its length
How the Taylor rule changed central banking for good
Kansas Fed paper shows that the rule had widespread influence and changed policymaking even when it was not adopted outright
Monetary misperceptions in a New Keynesian model
Centre for Economic Policy Research paper finds that the difference between primary and revised monetary figures captures misperceptions, which are key
Bank of Japan – Minutes (25 and 26 Jan)
Minutes of the Japanese central bank’s most recent policy meeting show members felt December measures had heightened effectiveness of policy easing, cabinet representatives emphasises achieving positive inflation as soon as possible
Harare will keep multi-currency system till 2012: minister
Economic planning minister says the country will continue using the rand, dollar and pula among others for the time being
Bank of Canada Review (Winter)
Winter edition of bulletin contains articles on inflation persistence, capital flows in emerging markets and the accessibility of banknotes
Real-estate poses threat to recovery: Minneapolis Fed’s Kocherlakota
Minneapolis Fed president Narayana Kocherlakota echoes recent comments from other regional Fed leaders in his first speech, says recovery will be slow
Fed’s Hoenig flags independence threat from fiscal burden
Sole dissenter points to German hyperinflation and Fed’s kowtowing to Congress over Vietnam and Great Society as signs central bank could act on political pressure
Bank plays down inflation threat
Above-target inflation likely to soon abate, Bank of England’s governor says in letter to chancellor of the exchequer
New rate-setters named in Poland
Poland’s president names three new members to the monetary policy council, newcomer says country has scant hope of meeting Maastricht criteria for euro adoption
Spending and loose monetary policy cause inflation
CEPR looks for an explanation for UK inflation in the 1970s
Inflation targets must be raised: IMF’s Blanchard
IMF economists Olivier Blanchard, Giovanni Dell’Ariccia and Paulo Mauro call for central banks to revise their price growth targets if they want to avoid crippling deflation
China surprises with second reserve requirement hike
People’s Bank of China ups its reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage points to drain excess liquidity from system
Triple A rating “ours to lose”: King
Bank of England’s Mervyn King says downgrade unlikely given Britain’s strong track record and maturity of government bonds