Interest rates
China should adopt new intermediate target for monetary policy, say IMF economists
Economists at the IMF analyse demand for money in China and conclude the PBoC would be better off targeting interest rates in the economy rather than monetary aggregates
Israel to announce rate decisions while trading floor is open
Move will bring Israeli central bank in line with its international peers but unlikely to make much practical difference, observers say
IMF says real interest rates have fallen sharply since 1980s
Rise in emerging market savings rates, increase in demand for safe assets and recent fall in yields in advanced countries are the major contributors to real rate decline since the 1990s
Mutebile says African central banks should adopt inflation targets
Bank of Uganda and International Monetary Fund encourage central banks in Sub-Saharan Africa to transition to more ‘modern’ monetary policy frameworks
Riksbank told to stop ‘leaning against the wind' by national forecaster
Sweden's National Institute for Economic Research sees ‘no reason for monetary policy to be influenced by household debt' in a rebuke of Riksbank policy
Japan FSA proposes two phases for mandatory clearing
The proposals would force financial institutions to clear their yen interest rate swaps, although insurance companies and pension funds are absent from JFSA plans
Underemployment's impact on spare capacity smaller than thought, says Weale
Bank of England's Martin Weale says impact of underemployment on UK spare capacity is 'smaller than might appear at first sight'; productivity of extra 1% employment likely lower than average
Fed sends mixed messages on future interest rates
Dovish statement by FOMC yesterday signals low interest rates for ‘considerable' time after QE ends, but voting members' projections see interest rates heading upwards
ECB paper sees merits in fiscal activism at ZLB
Research calls for a policy-maker who cares more about stabilising inflation, relative to government spending, than the private sector when nominal interest rates are at zero lower bound
RBNZ hikes rates for first time in three years
Reserve Bank of New Zealand raises its key rate to 2.75% and signals gradual tightening will continue until the rate has increased by 'about two percentage points'
ECB technically prepared for negative deposit rates
The ECB has made the IT adjustments necessary to cut its deposit rate below zero, according to Bundesbank’s deputy head of markets, but the policy has its drawbacks
Permanent drop in UK risk-free rate suggests lower interest rates the 'new normal'
Bank of England's David Miles says lower returns on safe assets prompted by changed risk perceptions will keep bank's benchmark rate below historic average
Central Bank of Brazil hike 'signals end' to year-long tightening cycle
Central bank raises benchmark Selic rate by 25 basis points to 10.75% in move that analysts say means a lower peak is probable
Study finds support for Reserve Bank of Fiji's targeting of overnight policy rate
Working paper uses quarterly data for a 10-year period, 'comprehensively estimating all potential money demand equations within the ambit of monetary policy'
ECB paper tests resilience of Polish economy to interest rate shocks
Researchers find that output and prices in Poland have become more resilient to both interest rate and exchange rate shocks over the past two decades
Former HKMA chief Yam calls on PBoC to shift to policy rate
Founding chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority publishes a paper calling for interest rate and money base liberalisation on the mainland
Central Bank of Turkey expected to avoid drama with rate hold tomorrow
The bank, which hiked rates by 425 basis points in an emergency meeting on January 29, is widely expected to stay on current path; has continued to sell dollars in February to prop up lira
Public opinion of BoJ policy continues to dive
Bank of Japan survey shows majority of Japanese people now think interest rates are too low, while a growing proportion believe the economy will worsen over the next year
Nigerian interest rates have 'weak effect' on real economy, CBN working paper finds
Paper examines the process by which Nigerian interest rate policy affects the structure of interest rates, credit, aggregate demand and output production
Orthodox Banxico policies ‘paying off' amid emerging market volatility
Loose monetary policy in Mexico has been made possible by progress on inflation anchoring, according to bank's quarterly report
One in five in UK 'aware of forward guidance'
Policy may indirectly affect households' interest rate expectations and spending through media reports and effects on business spending, according to report
ECB monetary policy is feeding through to real economy, says Mersch
Executive board member also underscores importance of cleaning up banks' balance sheets and 'encouraging alternative funding sources', as low interest rates 'cannot raise growth on a structural basis'
ECB holds rates despite continued disinflation
European Central Bank holds refinance rate at 0.25% and shuns additional policy instruments despite inflation falling to 0.7%; attention turns to updated and expanded staff forecasts in March
Bank of Ghana hikes rates and tightens forex controls in bid to defend currency
Central bank raises interest rates by 200bp to 18% at emergency meeting; follows yesterday's decree that all domestic transactions must be denominated in local cedi