Monetary policy
Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 25 June 2003, released 13 August. Members exchanged views on a numerical target for price stability. One member stressed that the Bank should make a stronger commitment to overcome deflation, and…
Bank of England maintains interest rates at 3.5%
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the Bank's repo rate at 3.5%, 7 August.
UK interest rates left unchanged
The Bank of England left interest rates unchanged on Thursday at 3.5 per cent. The decision was widely predicted, notes the Financial Times, after the MPC made a quarter point cut at its last meeting.
Monetary policy is not the force it was
This article suggests monetary policy does not have much to do with money. There is hard evidence that bank lending is quantitatively the most important channel through which monetary policy affects the economy, but this should not be reassuring it says…
Interview with Bank of England's Paul Tucker
In an interview with Dow Jones, Paul Tucker said that the outlook for the world economy remains uncertain. Tucker, who sits on the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, spoke of a "delicately poised" domestic and international economy but said…
When great minds should not think alike
Committees are not necessarily the best recipe for good policy outcomes, this article in the Financial Times suggests. After Rachel Lomax joined the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee and immediately ruffled some feathers by dissenting from the…
'Arch-dove' proposed to Poland's monetary council
Poland's ruling SLD party has named current Deputy Finance Minister Jan Czekaj as its candidate to fill the vacancy on the national bank's interest rate-setting Monetary Policy Council (RPP), according to an Interfax report. The Polish government has…
BoJ's Fujiwara - Inside a Monetary Policy Meeting
In a speech on 'Inside a Monetary Policy Meeting' Sakuya Fujiwara of the Bank of Japan said transparency of the Bank of Japan's conduct of monetary policy has been enhanced by Monetary Policy Meetings. I attach special importance to increasing the…
Rachel Lomax and a new era for the MPC
Rachel Lomax's first Monetary Policy Meeting at the Bank of England may have labelled her a hawk for good from day one at the office. An article published by Dow Jones suggests her reluctance to vote for a rate cut when growth is weak may signal distinct…
Bank of England MPC Minutes 9/10 July 2003
Minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee Meeting were released on 23 July for the meeting of 9 and 10 July 2003. The MPC acknowledged that it now seemed likely that UK growth in 2003 Q2 had been weaker than the Committee had assumed in…
MPC's Lomax was only dissenter in UK rates cut
The Bank of England's nine member Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 for a cut in interest rates at their July meeting, minutes showed on Wednesday 23 July. The Financial Times reported that Rachel Lomax, the new deputy governor, attending her first…
Nickell on employment and taxes
In a speech on 'Employment and Taxes' given on 21 July Stephen Nickell of the Bank of England's MPC concluded that tax rates are a significant factor in explaining differences in the amount of market work undertaken by the working age population in…
Korean deal on monetary board seats criticised
Two organisations that control two seats of the Bank of Korea's seven-member monetary-policy board, have criticized recent moves by the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the BOK to take over their rights to appoint board members, according to the Korea…
Bank of Canada Monetary Policy Report Update
The Bank of Canada on 17 July released its Update to the April Monetary Policy Report. The Update reviews economic and financial trends in the context of Canada's inflation-control strategy. The July Update highlights a number of unanticipated…
New Bank team take their bow
Appearing for the first time before the UK Treasury Select Committee in his new capacity as governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King disarmingly admitted to having "no idea" whether the current level of 3.5% of interests was the correct level. This…
Greenspans testimony to Congress
In testimony on 15 July Alan Greenspan presented the Federal Reserve Board's semiannual monetary policy report to Congress. Greenspan said the Fed was prepared to leave interest rates at low levels "for as long as it takes". He said the Fed remained…
Broaddus on the Economy and Monetary Policy
In the speech 'Remarks on the Economy and Monetary Policy' J. Alfred Broaddus of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said he was confident that the Fed could put effective strategies in place if necessary to prevent significant disinflation or deflation…
Alan Greenspan opens Philadelphia Fed mini-museum
Alan Greenspan opened the Philadelphia Fed's new "Money in Motion" mini-museum on Wednesday 2 July, Dow Jones reports. The displays aim to make the complex history of American monetary policy visitor-friendly for tourists and local visitors.
BoJ Monetary Policy minutes, 19 and 20 May
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 19 and 20 May 2003, released 30 June. With respect to domestic demand, corporate profits were recovering, and if exports and production resumed their upward trend, business fixed investment was…
Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Meeting
At its monetary policy meeting held on 25 June the Bank of Japan unanimously decided to maintain current guidelines.
BoJ Monetary Policy minutes, 30 April
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 30 April 2003, released 16 June. The minutes showed at least two of the BoJ's nine policy board members favour the introduction of a "reference rate of inflation" to halt deflation.
BOK governor may get more say over board members
A draft bill may give the Bank of Korea more influence over the appointment of members to its monetary policy board, Dow Jones reports. The proposed bill would increase the number of members the governor, Park Seung, can recommend to the board.
Gap in our knowledge about output and inflation
In this article in the Financial Times Samuel Brittan looks at the idea of discretionary fiscal policy replacing monetary policy once Britain is in the euro - a return to Keynesian demand management as some have describe it. The Treasury's proposal…
Bank of England MPC Minutes 4/5 June 2003
Minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee Meeting were released on 18 June for the meeting of 4 and 5 June 2003. The minutes showed that the MPC was split 6-3 in favour of maintaining interest rates at 3.75%. Kate Barker, Marian Bell and…