Monetary policy
Eurosytem and Mediterranean central bankers gather in Morocco
Central bankers meet to discuss economic and financial developments, monetary policy implementation and macro-prudential policies and financial stability
Brazil and South Korea cut rates amid economic gloom
Central Bank of Brazil and Bank of Korea cut interest rates due to poor economic outlook and declines in indicators; Brazil marks eighth consecutive reduction while Korea makes first cut since 2009
SNB paper links low interest rates and housing bubbles
Swiss National Bank working paper finds strong relationship between low short-term rates and housing bubbles; argues house prices can be controlled by following ‘Taylor rule’
National Bank of Serbia annual report reviews policy changes
Annual monetary policy report highlights shift in mid-2011 towards monetary easing in Serbia; says pressure from food prices caused inflation to repeatedly overshoot target in first half of year
SNB paper evaluates central bank communication strategies
Swiss National Bank working paper examines two communication strategies designed to reduce market overreaction to announcements
Draghi says closer union will achieve stability in Europe
Mario Draghi says quality of reforms and implementation ‘absolutely essential’; sets out vision of future union based on financial, fiscal, economic and political integration
ECB’s Asmussen stresses importance of central bank communication
ECB board member Jörg Asmussen underscores need for effective communication by central banks; says crisis has ‘shifted the goalposts’
Slew of central banks hold rates amid economic uncertainty
Riksbank, National Bank of Poland, Reserve Bank of Australia and Central Bank of Colombia all keep policy rates unchanged; central banks offer mixed message on global economy
RBI paper examines monetary policy transmission
Working paper studies channels of monetary policy in India; finds main impact made via interest rates but also identifies credit and asset-price effects
Sack withdraws resignation and stays on at NY Fed
Brian Sack stays on as a senior adviser to New York Fed president William Dudley; new head of markets group already appointed
Peru central bank paper models interbank lending
Working paper develops New Keynesian model including an interbank lending market to analyse dual effect of reserve requirements and interest rates
RBI executive director weighs financial stability objective
Deepak Mohanty considers financial stability as part of a central bank’s mandate; emphasises importance but says price stability should not be subordinated
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