Interest rates
New York Fed unveils new way to calculate funds rate
Central bank plans to base the rate on a new dataset that captures a broader range of market activity; move likely to happen in about a year’s time
Rajan says RBI is seeking ways to encourage foreign investment
RBI tightens rules for foreign investors but Rajan says central bank is looking into ways of encouraging desirable FDI flows; rates remain on hold
Constâncio: ECB ‘encouraged’ by reaction to QE
ECB vice-president points to rise in price of equities and bonds and drop in the exchange rate, but warns against reading too much into financial and real variables
IMF calls for reform at Madagascar central bank
Staff report says central bank needs greater independence and stronger oversight mechanisms; new audit committee on the way and government agrees to recapitalise institution
Bank of Russia cuts key rate by 200bp
Central bank cuts rate to 15% just one month after raising it by 650bp to 17%; points to the risk of a ‘sizeable decline in economic activity’ as the motivation for the decision
Brazil's central bank says inflation progress ‘not enough’
A rise in regulated prices is fuelling Brazil’s inflation, which rose 6.69% in January; minutes from latest MPC meeting suggest dissatisfaction with level despite rate hikes
Denmark cuts rate for third time in 11 days
Danish central bank cuts its deposit rate for the third time since the Swiss National Bank decided to abandon its exchange rate commitment; rate now sits at -0.5%
Kganyago: Sarb taking ‘pause’ in normalisation
South African Reserve Bank holds repurchase rate at 5.75%, but monetary policy committee agrees the ‘lower inflation path’ creates the chance to ‘pause’ its tightening cycle
Upbeat Fed statement keeps mid-year rate hike alive
Federal Reserve keeps policy on hold but delivers a positive account of US economy, suggesting inflation will return to target over medium term despite oil price drop
Turkey’s central bank expects to break letter-writing cycle
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey forecasts inflation falling back to target from mid-2015, sparing it a fourth letter to the government in the space of five years
State Bank of Pakistan slashes rates to decade low
Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra strikes upbeat note despite inflation falling significantly below target, as central bank cuts interest rates by 100 basis points
Canada cuts rate for ‘insurance’ against oil price drop
Stephen Poloz says the fall in oil prices in ‘unambiguously negative’ for the Canadian economy as central bank unveils first rate change in over four years
Summers takes Germany to task over attitude towards debt
Speaking in London, former US treasury secretary says there is need to move beyond 'Calvinist idea' that debt is bad; questions impact of QE, macro-prudential policies
SNB shocks markets by abandoning euro ceiling ahead of ECB showdown
Swiss franc sharply appreciates against the euro in the wake of the Swiss National Bank’s decision to scrap the minimum exchange rate; central bank does not rule out ad hoc interventions
Rajan catches markets off guard with unscheduled rate cut
Markets get ‘pleasant surprise’ as Reserve Bank of India unveils a rate cut outside its normal policy schedule; analysts predict further cuts to come
UK inflation drops to 0.5%
Consumer price inflation falls to its lowest level since records began, prompting Mark Carney to write his first explanatory letter to the UK chancellor; governor stresses immediate benefits
Israeli research finds monetary policy is ‘dominant factor’ on short-term yields
Paper published by Bank of Israel examines impact of monetary and fiscal policy on government bond yields; finds the influence of government debt has ‘strengthened’ in past decade
SNB expects profit of $39 billion for 2014
Foreign currency positions responsible for most of the profit for Swiss National Bank, which increased its forex reserves by 7% in December following exchange rate pressure
Chilean paper analyses recent trends in long-term interest rates
Whether interest rate normalisation will be a smooth process ‘remains to be seen’ as recent developments in fixed-income markets ‘warns of enhanced risks’, research finds
BIS paper finds US spillovers impact through long-term rates
Researchers show US monetary policy spills over into Asian economies mainly through long-term interest rates and suggest policy options
Swiss National Bank introduces negative rates
In the face of growing pressure on the Swiss franc, the SNB imposes an interest rate of -0.25% on sight deposits held at the central bank
Ruble plummets despite 650bp hike by Bank of Russia
Second interest rate increase in four days does little to stem currency's precipitous decline; analyst calls central bank's apparent reluctance to intervene in forex markets a ‘game changer'
IMF: Uganda cut policy meetings to improve forecasts
Bank of Uganda now sets policy once every two months in an effort to base decisions on "firmer" data; the ECB will hold eight meetings in 2015 with the BoE set to follow suit in 2016
Brazil’s central bank lowers expectations of further action
Brazil’s central bank says inflation will enter ‘a long period of decline’ next year, as it looks to guide inflation and interest rate expectations