Monetary policy
Old Lady cuts rates to 5.5%
The Bank of England's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted on Thursday to cut its benchmark bank rate by 25 basis points after data suggested the UK economy was weakening.
UK's King gloomy on economic conundrum
Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, said on Thursday that the economic outlook is "uncomfortable" because the problems of the credit crisis are now coupled with burgeoning inflationary pressures.
Mexico holds rates at 7.5%
The Bank of Mexico's rate-setting board voted on Friday to hold its benchmark rate at 7.5%.
UK's Gieve surprises with rate cut vote
Sir John Gieve, the deputy governor at the Bank of England responsible for financial stability, was one of two dissenters who voted for a rate cut at the monetary policy committee's November meeting, minutes published on Wednesday reveal.
Bank of England holds rates at 5.75%
The Bank of England's rate-setting board voted on Thursday to keep its benchmark bank rate at 5.75%.
How monetary policy responds to uncertainty
Under conditions of uncertainty, optimal monetary policy responds more to price and wage inflation than to natural-rate terms, according to research published by the Federal Reserve.
UK business view used to judge economic impact
Kate Barker, a member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee, will use business surveys and housing market indicators to judge whether the downside risks to the UK's inflation outlook have increased.
Minutes show BoE board split on rate decision
David Blanchflower, a member of the monetary policy committee at the Bank of England, called for a rate cut at October's meeting, the minutes published on Wednesday reveal.
SA's Mboweni on the importance of communication
The need for good communication to support an effective monetary policy regime has again been underlined by Tito Mboweni, the governor of the South African Reserve Bank.
Swiss bulletin predicts US slowdown
The Swiss National Bank's latest monetary policy report presented a pessimistic outlook for the US economy.
Sentance links UK inflation with global economy
The openness of the UK economy makes inflation vulnerable to global forces in the short term said Andrew Sentance, an external member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, on Monday.
Japan keeps rates on hold
The Bank of Japan's monetary policy board decided to keep rates on hold at 0.5%.
Mizuno wanted 25 bp hike
The minutes from the Bank of Japan's monetary policy board July meeting confirm that Atsushi Mizuno wanted to raise the overnight rate from 0.5% to 0.75%.
Problems with monetary policy transmission lags
A paper published by the Bank of Finland investigates how lags in monetary policy transmission can damage the credibility of inflation-targeting central bankers.
BoE's MPC all agreed to hold rates
Minutes of this month's meeting at the Bank of England revealed all nine members of the monetary policy committee were in favour of this month's rate hold.
Fed's Plosser on housing and monetary policy
The recent reversal of the boom in housing activity and house prices in the United States has contributed to a slowdown in economic growth, says Charles Plosser, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, in this speech. But, he argues,…
ECB paper on Fed and ECB response to shocks
This ECB working paper employs a medium-scale dynamic general equilibrium model with financial frictions to contrast the policy responses of the ECB and the Federal Reserve to economic shocks since 2001.
BoE's Sentance on monetary policy and business
Andrew Sentence, an external member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said on 10 July that the benefits to businesses from sound monetary policy "lie not in a temporary respite from higher interest rates, but in achieving a…
Bank of England raises bank rate by 0.25%
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England voted on 5 July to raise the official bank rate by 0.25% to 5.75%. The previous change in bank rate was an increase of 0.25% to 5.5% on May 10 this year.
Bank of England MPC members explain decisions
The testimonies of individual members of the Bank of England's rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) before the Treasury select committees on 28 June, provided some clues as to the timing of further tightening.
King outvoted over rates increase again
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England narrowly defeated governor Mervyn King at their policy meeting in June, voting 5-4 to keep the rate unchanged at 5.5%. This was the second time that the governor was on the losing end of an MPC…
Monetary policy with imperfect knowledge
This ECB Working Paper examines the performance and robustness properties of monetary policy rules in an estimated macroeconomic model in which the economy undergoes structural change and where private agents and the central bank possess imperfect…
Banks still matter most - Bernanke
Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, says the Fed has retained the ability to control financing costs, despite the fact that nonbank lenders and capital markets have replaced banks as sources of credit for many households and businesses.
The political economy of the MPC - Tucker
In this keynote address to a conference on "Inflation Targeting, Central Bank Independence and Transparency" at the University of Cambridge, Paul Tucker, a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), discusses the political economy…