Quantitative easing
BoJ faces growing communications challenge
Japanese central bank embarks on its third attempt at unlimited fixed-rate outright JGB purchases; further fiscal stimulus would do little to help
St Louis’s Bullard on the future of the Fed and its monetary policy record
St Louis Fed president James Bullard rails against east coast dominance, favours aspects of the Choice Act and says Fed monetary policy was a “factor” that fuelled crisis
BoE bloggers suggest central banks could use equity-financed QE
Economists raise ideas for future balance sheet innovations, including digital currencies, helicopter money drops and equity-based quantitative easing
Bank of Japan strikes upbeat tone as it keeps policy on hold
The Bank of Japan decided to leave policy settings unchanged at its June meeting, but sounded more upbeat on the outlook
Former central bank governors debate unconventional monetary policy
Trichet, Shirakawa and Weber agree unconventional tools may have outstayed their welcome; costs of tools used during the crisis will not be known for some time, Weber says
Draghi flags wage weakness as he defends easing measures
“Very substantial” accommodation still needed, says ECB president; central bank is devoting resources to understanding low wage growth
BoJ’s Sakurai defends aggressive monetary easing
A member of the policy board says yield-curve control allows flexibility for the central bank to implement monetary easing
Inflation targeting three decades on
Former RBNZ governor Don Brash reflects on whether New Zealand’s experiment with inflation targeting has worked
Fed minutes shed light on balance sheet shrinkage plan
System of caps would allow gradual reductions in the reinvestment of securities held under the QE programme
Bernanke urges BoJ to keep up its easing efforts
Former Fed chair recommends the central bank continue its aggressive easing, though he concedes “bad luck” could yet cause it to fail
The BoJ’s risky yield curve control experiment
The Bank of Japan’s experiment with yield curve control could work if appropriate targets and communication strategies were applied. But its current policy objectives are muddled
BoJ should provide ‘more realistic’ projections – former policy board member
Claims constant overestimation of inflation expectations undermines credibility
BoJ cuts inflation forecast at a time of falling JGB purchases
Bank of Japan reduces forecast to 1.4% as bond purchases appear to be declining
Draghi stands firm on QE
Eurozone recovery seems stronger, ECB president says
Balance sheet not an ‘active’ policy tool for normal times, says Fed’s George
Reductions in Fed’s balance sheet should be on “autopilot”, says George; establishing a “sound framework” will be important
Little EME volatility spillover from Fed/ECB balance sheets
Central bank policies had little impact on volatility in EMEs’ real markets – researchers
Central banks could intervene on repo market function – BIS study
Markets still in a “state of transition” but some central banks might want to take action to mitigate adverse effects, CGFS report says
ECB bond-buying has had ‘significant’ impact on Bund market
The impact of PSPP purchases is substantially higher in stressed markets – Bundesbank paper
FOMC mulls ‘predictable’ balance sheet wind-down
One FOMC member says a “minimum pace” should be set for the reduction in mortgage-backed securities; committee will inform the public about its future plans for the balance sheet when the time comes
Draghi and Praet say ECB will continue with QE
Praet says interest rates should remain low “past the horizon of our net asset purchases”
Asset purchases could bring benefits in ‘normal’ times – paper
IMF working paper discusses whether asset purchases should be added to standard central bank toolkit; the policies seem more effective at combatting financial shocks than supply shocks
Croatian governor warns of further financial crises
It is probably time for central banks to “get out” of expanded balance sheets, Boris Vujčić says
French paper examines impact of ECB’s PSPP on bond yields
Researchers use data from the French market to examine bond shocks
IMF research uncovers ‘puzzling’ effect of QE on the current account
Authors see QE having significant impact only when capital mobility is low; findings suggest “unexplained variation” between QE and capital mobility