Interest rates
Bank of Lithuania refashions calculation for interbank lending rate
The central bank is replacing interest rates with credit ratings as basis for bank quotes
Russian central bank introduces new instrument for cheaper funding
New Bank of Russia governor brings in policy to auction 12-month loans to banks with a starting price 150bp under the standard 12-month repo rate
ECB monthly bulletin explains forward guidance
ECB's July bulletin sets out the thinking behind forward guidance, emphasising it is 'fully consistent with the ECB's mandate and monetary policy strategy'
Bank of Japan holds policy as economy ‘starts to recover'
BoJ confident inflation will start to rise, as starts to see signs of recovery in the economy; keeps quantitative and qualitative easing programme in place
Indonesia hikes policy rates by 50 basis points
Policy rate up to 6.5% despite falling growth; move aims to combat rising inflation, as international capital flows hit currency value
IMF's Lagarde supports negative rates in eurozone
IMF Article IV for the eurozone backs Draghi promise to keep rates low and says negative rates would support demand and ward off deflation; ECB chief concerned that financial transactions tax will hurt monetary policy efficacy
Overlooked global factors have major impact on long-term interest rates, IMF paper says
Research paper says the explanatory power of domestic variables on rates is weak compared with global fiscal and monetary policy stances
Carney's BoE shifts towards forward guidance on rates
Bank of England holds monetary policy steady, telling markets that expectations of rate rises have been premature; formal forward guidance is expected at the August meeting
ECB commits to keep interest rates down
Governing council says interest rate will remain at or below 0.5% for an ‘extended period of time’ despite previously refusing to pre-commit monetary policy
Sweden's Riksbank holds rates, but new deputy dissents
Ingves suggests the possibility of another increase in mortgage risk-weights after they were raised to a minimum of 15% in April; Riksbank estimates consumer price inflation to remain at 1% in 2013
Portuguese paper questions efficacy of fiscal policy at zero lower bound
Working paper finds that government and private consumption are substitutes when the nominal interest rate is at the zero lower bound; this reduces impact of fiscal policy on output by a third
Top Fed officials speak out to calm markets
Two Federal Reserve governors and the New York Fed president emphasise a change in monetary policy will be driven by data, not the date; further easing remains a possibility
Fed's Stein clarifies unemployment ‘threshold' for rate change
Permanent FOMC voter seeks to provide extra clarity over Bernanke statement last week; emphasises that interest rates could stay at rock-bottom even if unemployment falls to 6.5%
Hungarian inflation bound for 3% target after central bank cuts again
Hungarian National Bank cuts benchmark interest rate by 25bp for 11th successive meeting; forecasts that inflation will pick up in 2014 and hit target the following year
Caruana backs Bernanke taper timetable but warns banks to prepare for volatility
BIS general manager says Fed chairman Ben Bernanke was right to signal a tightening of monetary policy but warns stress tests will be needed to prepare banks for an increase in volatility
Bank of England concerned by ‘vulnerability’ to interest rate increases
Financial Stability Report calls for assessment of financial institutions' exposure to increases in global interest rates; recommends banks are allowed to reduce their liquid asset holdings
Financial institutions must prepare for higher interest rates, says Carney
Incoming Bank of England governor calls for ‘continued vigilance’ to avoid the financial system being caught out by volatility and interest rate rises caused by an exit from easy monetary policy
BoE research warns of self-fulfilling prophecy in 'speed-limit’ monetary policy
Working paper says targeting rates of change may not be as beneficial as some studies have suggested; could cause interest rates to become ‘pinned’ at the zero lower bound
ECB is capable of negative rates - but consequences are uncertain
ECB executive board member Yves Mersch says dangers include financial innovations to ‘emulate currency and allow tax avoidance' if deposit rates are moved below zero
Fed research models optimal monetary and fiscal policy under uncertainty
Discussion paper seeks to improve on previous models by introducing uncertainty; finds it is optimal for the government to spend more at the zero lower bound under uncertainty
ECB keeps SME measures ‘on the shelves’ and holds rates alongside BoE
Draghi says further unconventional measures were discussed at today’s meeting of the governing council, but are being held in reserve; ECB joins Bank of England in taking no policy action
Bank of Israel’s outgoing chief, Stanley Fischer, on the challenges of central banking
Stanley Fischer believes his work as governor of the Bank of Israel is done. He tells Chris Jeffery about the reform process in Israel as well as the challenges facing the world economy and the IMF
BIS warns central bank easing is fuelling equity markets
The latest quarterly review released by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) finds that markets are ‘under the spell’ of central banks
Bank of Thailand rate cut aims to boost demand, not weaken baht
BoT makes clear its move was driven by disappointing economic growth, and not aimed at weakening the currency as the government would like