Monetary policy
New Zealand central bank publishes statement of intent
Statement emphasises commitment to price stability as “primary goal”; highlights need to adapt to macroeconomic environment in setting monetary and macro-prudential policy
Iceland central bank governor discusses policy challenges
Már Guðmundsson reflects on difficulties that remain in removing capital controls and tackling high inflation; suggests that others could learn from the Icelandic model
Caruana says central bank credibility ‘must not be squandered’
BIS secretary general says reliance on central banks to provide extraordinary monetary policy to prop up the financial system is causing dangerous distortions; credibility may be ‘squandered’
Bernanke says Fed ready for QE3 if necessary
Fed chairman explains FOMC decision to maintain rates and extend Operation Twist; says Fed is ready to make more asset purchases if necessary
Fed extends Operation Twist to end of 2012
Federal Open Market Committee to continue programme to lengthen average maturity of its holdings of securities; target range for federal funds rate maintained at 0-0.25%
BoE minutes show dovish shift
Minutes from Bank of England monetary policy committee’s latest meeting reveal governor Mervyn King voted for an increase to the asset purchase programme in the UK; lost out in narrow vote
UK inflation unexpectedly drops again
Office for National Statistics reveals CPI annual inflation fell this month; leads to renewed QE expectations and predictions of on-target inflation figure by the end of the year
Romanian governor examines monetary policy transitions
Mugur Isărescu considers changes to Romanian monetary policy in response to changing economic environment; says policy requires an understanding of theory but must be grounded in economic reality
RBI holds rates fearing impact of further QE abroad
Reserve Bank of India says another round of quantitative easing in advanced countries would have an adverse impact on growth and inflation; keeps rates on hold in anticipation
Croatian National Bank facing governance void
Governor Željko Rohatinski’s term ends in early July; no successor has yet been announced by government
Bank of Canada paper compares price-level and inflation targets
Working paper considers effect of global commodity price shocks on choice of monetary policy regime; finds important impact of energy supply and demand
BIS paper examines impact of financial cycle
Working paper studies the financial cycle and its relationship to the business cycle; emphasises importance of considering the medium term in designing policies
BoE’s Tucker discusses credit market lessons
Bank of England deputy governor Paul Tucker considers lessons learned from credit boom and bust; urges careful assessment of policies by monetary authorities
Bank of Korea governor on adaptation to global environment
Choongsoo Kim delivers speech arguing that central bank must adapt to global economic environment; highlights importance of growing policy interdependence
Sarb governor discusses response to economic risks
Gill Marcus examines economic risks facing South African economy; says employment target should not be included in bank’s mandate
BoJ paper explains central bank’s money market operations
Paper examines Bank of Japan money market operations in fiscal 2011; says bank’s provision of funds maintained market confidence throughout year
Central Bank of Colombia paper models transparency incentives
Working paper evaluates central bank incentives to misrepresent private information; finds central banks cannot credibly commit to truth-telling
Albanian governor discusses monetary policy decision
Bank of Albania governor Ardian Fullani describes mixed economic outlook; central bank keeps rates unchanged at 4.25%
IMF paper develops model of world economy
Paper builds structural macroeconomic model of world economy; says such models are “prerequisite” to IMF surveillance
BIS researcher examines countercyclical policy in emerging markets
BIS Quarterly Review special feature assesses the use of countercyclical policies in emerging markets; finds broad implementation of stabilising monetary and fiscal policies
Finland board member considers changing role of central banks
Member of the board of the Bank of Finland examines changes in the role of central banks after the financial crisis; highlights greatly expanded demands
Swiss central bank board member explains unique situation
Jean-Pierre Danthine examines SNB’s unusual monetary policy situation; says impact of unconventional measures should not be overestimated
IMF paper examines capital flow management
Working paper considers methods of managing large-scale capital flows in Czech Republic, Poland and Romania; argues capital controls should not be used
Sarb publishes Monetary Policy Review
South African Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Review notes continuing global uncertainty; central bank decides to maintain repurchase rate of 5.5%