Interest rates
US unemployment falls to 5.1% despite drop in jobs growth
Richmond Fed president describes it as a ‘right-down-the-middle-of-the-fairway’ unemployment report, as he spells out why the time is right to begin raising interest rates
Draghi stresses willingness to act as ECB cuts inflation forecasts
Governing council holds policy as ECB staff cut inflation forecasts over the forecast horizon; Mario Draghi stresses QE could run beyond September 2016 if necessary
National Bank of Kazakhstan sets base rate for first time
Central bank sets new benchmark interest rate at 12% in first monetary policy meeting under inflation targeting framework
BoJ’s Kiuchi warns 2% inflation unlikely ‘even in fiscal 2017’
Policy board member says Japanese inflation is unlikely to reach the central bank’s 2% target by the end of fiscal year 2017
Boston Fed president compares forthcoming rate hikes with past tightening cycles
Eric Rosengren finds this tightening cycle is likely to differ from those of 1994 and 2004, in that rates are set to rise more gradually and stop at a lower level
IMF urges central banks to retain easy monetary policy
Ahead of the G20 meeting in Turkey the IMF prepares a briefing on policy challenges; tells central banks to prevent real interest rates from ‘rising prematurely’
Australian SWF heads see returns dipping as central banks normalise policy
The chair of the Australian Government Future Fund says easy monetary policy ‘cannot be sustained indefinitely’ and returns are likely to drop in coming years
Fischer upbeat on US inflation outlook at Jackson Hole
Fed vice-chair Stanley Fischer says there is ‘good reason’ to believe inflation will move higher as impact of rise in dollar and fall in oil prices dissipates
EAC officials highlight exchange rate pass-through concerns
Both central banks wary of potential for domestic inflation to increase in face of depreciating currencies; concerns over impact of external environment raised in EAC member statement
Indian central bank targets stronger rate transmission
Reserve Bank of India sees improvements in transmission of policy to money markets, but looks to strengthen credit channel as it transitions to inflation targeting framework
Turkish central bank eyes return to normality
Central bank plans to return to a simpler, more conventional monetary policy framework, but politics may yet get in the way
Lockhart still expects rate hike this year
Atlanta Fed president still expects Fed to start tightening ‘sometime’ this year but market expectations of a September hike have fallen
PBoC steps in with rate cuts
Central bank cuts interest rates and reserve requirements amid deepening crisis, and uses the opportunity to push liberalisation agenda
Carney asked to review MPC code
Andrew Tyrie asks BoE governor to review MPC code of conduct and ensure it prevents committee members from having, or appearing to have, a conflict of interest
Trawl through BoJ archives reveals emergence of current policy-making
Study of failures and successes of BoJ policy-making in the 1980s reveals the emergence of current thinking about how best to conduct monetary policy
FOMC inching towards rate hike, minutes hint
Minutes of July meeting show some members are still concerned that labour market and inflation data are not strong enough for a hike, but several think the economy is nearly ready
Mexican board split on July rate decision
Minutes from the July 30 board meeting show three board members voted to hold the key rate at 3%, with one member favouring a 25bp hike and another absent
Nobel economist Sims on fiscal stimulus, Eurozone loss sharing and role of central banks
The Nobel laureate speaks with Christopher Jeffery about his scepticism regarding secular stagnation, the eurozone’s failings and the need for inflationary fiscal stimulus at the zero lower bound
The Fed’s impact on emerging market sovereign wealth investors
With central bank reserves seeing their biggest drop in more than a decade during the second quarter of 2015, Arvid Ahlund asks if tighter US policy will make matters better or worse
Lockhart says Fed liftoff is ‘close’
Atlanta Fed president highlights ‘cumulative evidence’ of economic recovery and says he is willing to sanction the first rate increase in the face of ‘mixed data’
US rate hike still a possibility after ‘solid’ jobs data
Federal Reserve still on track to hike rates later this year, possibly as soon as September, after latest jobs data shows 215,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls
Spanish paper puts crisis legacy into context
Working paper suggests long-run trends in population and productivity growth could hamper the ability of policy-makers to address the legacy of the crisis
Bank of England faces conundrum from contradictory data
Economy appears to be giving contradictory signals as slack shrinks and wages rise but employment disappoints and inflation stays low; MPC votes for hold
Bangladesh Bank will oversee creation of $500 million fund
World Bank and Bangladesh Bank putting up the money to finance longer-term projects in the economy, with some cash ring-fenced for ‘greening initiatives’