Monetary policy
ECB makes no change as Lagarde warns of uncertainty
Lagarde says price pressures remain weak and cautions over possible Covid-19 variants
Bank of Canada tapers quantitative easing programme
Despite continuing pandemic, “the outlook has improved”, says Macklem
BoE’s Bailey extols virtues of ‘meeting varied people’
Governor launches new initiative to gather diverse views from market contacts
ECB watchers say divisions on council could hamper decision-making
Analysts say central bank’s strategy of lower purchases could be tested later in 2021
Zhang Tao on the IMF’s fintech agenda, CBDCs and big tech oversight
IMF deputy managing director speaks about the fund’s perspectives on CBDC operating frameworks, regulating big tech and macrofinancial oversight in a digital world
Bank of Israel: vaccination fuelling rapid recovery
Inflation expectations are increasing, but headline figure still well below target
Is the ECB implementing yield curve control?
The eurozone has adopted a hybrid system – lying somewhere between the Fed’s QE and the BoJ’s yield curve control – that targets wider financing conditions
Fed may make Fima permanent – SF president Daly
SF Fed president says policy-makers also considering creation of domestic repurchase facility
Sarb projects ‘sharp but incomplete initial recovery’
South African inflation forecast to rise on higher electricity and water prices
Covid-19 support may have created “zombie firms” – BIS economists
Policy-makers should impose tighter lending standards and reform bankruptcy law, analysts argue
MMT rests on ‘untested statements’ – Richmond Fed paper
Authors warn that modern monetary theory rests on shaky foundations
Inflation in Sweden rises to 1.9%
Analysts say stable core inflation means Riksbank is unlikely to tighten policy
Sweden’s pension funds curb inequality, official says
Riksbank’s Ohlsson says collective funds mean high asset prices benefit wider population
Book notes: Central banks as fiscal players, by Willem Buiter
Buiter puts a real economic problem into a convincing theoretical frame, and translates it into applicable policy advice
Bank of Canada warns of possible housing pressures
BoC research highlights “vulnerabilities” as banks issue more high loan-to-income mortgages
New FOMC target may be shifting expectations – research
Cleveland Fed paper says some professional forecasters driving rise in inflation expectations
BIS launches database on Covid-19 monetary policy actions
Data designed to help researchers study “massive” policy response to pandemic
IMF adjusts growth forecasts upward
Fund warns of uneven and unequal recovery, but is more optimistic than it was in October
‘Giant of the field’ Robert Mundell dies
The Nobel laureate influenced a generation of economists via the Mundell-Fleming model
Bank of England targeted in Extinction Rebellion protest
Front entrance daubed in “fake oil” as part of wider protest against financial sector
A latent rise in r* could upend monetary policy
A rising natural rate could create serious challenges for policy-makers, write Jorma Schäublin and Philip Turner
A rebuttal of Philip Turner’s criticism of the BIS ‘house view’
Robert Pringle critiques the key findings raised in Philip Turner’s occasional paper, ‘The new monetary policy revolution: advice and dissent’
BoE’s Tenreyro highlights divergence in UK and US policies
US focused on protecting incomes, while UK protected jobs, MPC member notes
Czech governor rebuffs PM over government dividend
Rusnok publicly tells prime minister that profits must be used to rebuild CNB’s buffers