Quantitative easing
Some ECB governing council members wanted softer QE language – minutes
Governing council members also cautious over future exchange rate movements
Fed paper examines financial spillovers of US monetary policy
Authors find that conventional and unconventional policies create different spillover effects
A changing of the guard
Risks emerge amid leadership changes at the US Federal Reserve Board and the People’s Bank of China
Swedish inflation falls in January as Riksbank considers first hike
The CPI at fixed interest rates fell to 1.7% in January, compared with forecasts of 1.9%
Implementing a holistic and dynamic risk budget
The National Bank of Denmark has implemented a dynamic risk budget that takes the bank’s unavoidable policy risks as the point of departure. The new approach has led to a reassessment of investment exposures and how they are rebalanced over time and…
BoJ’s Kuroda in line for second term
Haruhiko Kuroda looks set to be the first governor to be reappointed in over 50 years, but the choice of deputies is unclear
ECB increases role of corporate debt in QE
Fall in sovereign bond purchases could allow extension of stimulus
A dangerous unknown: interest rate risk in the financial system
Urgent action is needed to tackle the little-understood build-up of interest rate risk in the global financial system; macro-pru tools still inadequate to tackle the issue
Bank of Japan increases bond purchases amid global sell-off
Both the prime minister and the governor see no rush to withdraw stimulus
Central bankers assess markets’ reactions to policy changes
Benoît Cœuré warns of complacency among investors as central banks move to normalise
Draghi strongly criticises US statements on dollar
ECB president calls for US to keep “implicit agreement” on avoiding competitive devaluations
Central banks should not be underestimated – DTCC chief
Michael Bodson says central banks will always find a way to deal with crises, even without interest rates at their disposal; Hélène Rey says interconnectedness of system is a risk
Central bank of the year: Bank of Canada
The Canadian central bank has stood out for its ever-improving levels of transparency, forward-looking management and best-practice review of its policy mandate
BIS paper: unconventional policies may have depressed natural rate
Economists find shifts in estimates of the natural rate co-move with unexpected changes in unconventional policy
ECB’s corporate bond-buying had positive effect in Spain, research says
Stimulus reduced yields for non-financial firms and increased credit to smaller companies
Policymakers should increase credit to ‘single-bank firms’ – paper
Researchers examine “unique natural experiment” of 2012 change to ECB’s QE policies
ECB policymakers see a robust economic recovery – minutes
Rate setters satisfied with the impact of the QE extension decided in October
BoJ’s cut to bond purchases not an exit strategy, say analysts
Move was unexpected, but analysts do not see it as a sign the BoJ may be preparing to exit its stimulus programmme
Fed economists tackle question of optimal balance sheet size
Cutting balance sheet would significantly reduce interest rate risk, economists find, as Fed acknowledges lower profits due to interest payments
Riksbank closer to tightening policy, governor Ingves says
Minutes show disagreements over future policy among policymakers
ECB dumps Steinhoff stock
Losses on holding in scandal-hit retailer may have been approximately €50 million
ECB corporate bond purchases fall to lowest level in December
CSPP is expected to rebound in January, while the ECB reduces QE to €30 billion a month
Book notes: Money in the Great Recession, by Tim Congdon
A stimulating collection of papers on the monetarist theory that had central bankers in late 2008 focused on boosting the quantity of broad money “the Great Recession would not have happened”
Bank of Japan keeps policy setting on hold
BoJ keeps policy on hold as inflation target remains elusive; Goshi Kataoka dissents again