Monetary policy
Bank chief economist Dale reappointed
Second term as rate-setter for hawkish executive director Spencer Dale, external member Kate Barker to leave at the end of her current term
Price-level targeting: a new monetary approach
As criticism of inflation targeting grows, economists and central bankers are taking a closer look at price-level targeting as an alternative. Malan Rietveld reports
Bank of Korea – Monetary Policy Statement (February)
South Korean central bank’s February statement shows the worries of a Greek default played a part in its maintenance of a loose policy stance
Watch money growth like ECB does: Trichet
ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet says the central bank has always considered monetary aggregates in its policy decisions, and urges the rest of the world to do so
Israel inches towards rate-setting board
Bank of Israel law, which would set up a six-member Monetary Policy Committee, passes first of three readings in the Knesset
Bank holds rates, halts asset purchases
Bank’s rate-setters stand pat, pointing to a clash of pressures between inflation and anaemic growth; ex-MPC members concur
Fed is best in crisis, says British think-tank
The Federal Reserve’s credit easing operations have fostered a quicker recovery than in the UK and eurozone, research finds
Keep the Fed away from politics: Dallas’s Fisher
Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher says allowing Congress to audit the Fed would be comparable to the governance crises of Weimar Germany and pre-Péron Argentina
Timing is everything: RBI’s Subbarao on exit
RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao stresses the need to support recovery while addressing soaring inflation a week ahead of next policy meeting
RBI's Mohanty bemoans inflation measures
Reserve Bank of India's Deepak Mohanty wants robust primary measure of inflation
Canada's Wolf on housing sector
David Wolf, an adviser at the Bank of Canada, says housing is disproportionately important in the country
Optimal monetary policy with some pricing power
Boston Fed paper looks at optimal policy in an environment where firms can set some prices
Taylor-rule author blasts Bernanke’s argument
Economist John Taylor says Bernanke was wrong to argue that low interest rates were not a factor in the housing bubble that led to the financial crisis
Fed reiterates plans for February exit
Federal Open Market Committee and governors expect to exit most crisis-fighting facilities early next year; committee keeps “extended period” pledge
East Asia will take its cue from Fed: Indonesia deputy
Budi Mulya, the deputy governor of Bank Indonesia, says it is crucial the Fed err on the side of caution in withdrawing accommodative measures; East Asia-Pacific region will watch it closely
Cutting interest rates the best solution: ECB paper
A European Central Bank working paper argues that interest rate cuts and controlled inflation help adverse financial conditions, while simplistic interpretation of Taylor rule does not
Fed does not respond to oil price shocks: CEPR paper
CEPR paper argues against the standard view that Fed’s policy responses to oil-price-led inflation caused economic instability
Central banks should have control over credit
Two economists argue in support of a role for credit in central banks’ mandate, and analyse the claim that financial crises are “credit booms gone wrong”
America can learn from us: Uganda’s Tumusiime-Mutebile
Bank of Uganda’s governor says risk-based supervision saved the country’s banks; reinforces the importance of open-market principles for the economy
Unconventional monetary policy reviewed
Claudio Borio and Piti Disyatat set out a framework of definitions to help categorise and clarify the functions of various monetary policy tools, and assess central banks’ actions since the crisis
Reflections on liquidity crises: Borio
The BIS’s Claudio Borio discusses ten propositions on liquidity crises, including the importance of improving buffers and the need for principles on central bank liquidity provision
Fed behaviour matches optimal target rule
A discussion paper on the Fed and monetary policy rules argues that an optimal target rule, rather than the Taylor rule, best explains the central bank’s policy behaviour
Turkish credit conditions improving
Central Bank of Turkey’s policy minutes show strains in the country’s credit markets are easing
Fiscal stimulus crucial for recovery
Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) compares the Great Depression with the global credit crisis