News/Economics
BoE draws lessons from Thomas Piketty
Income inequality has the potential to destabilise both financial and real sectors, and is increasingly garnering attention from central bankers, as the BoE’s quarterly bulletin highlights
Draghi defends Greek waiver decision in heated parliament session
ECB president defends bond-waiver decision and dismisses ‘popular mistakes’ over the disbursement of profits, having to raise his voice over heckling from MEPs
Greek debt deal marks start of rough road
Negotiations on Friday ended in a compromise stacked in Germany’s favour; although disaster has been temporarily averted there are more battles to come, and Greece’s funding remains tight
Good data vital for effective financial inclusion policies
With the World Bank soon to release the first update to its global financial inclusion database, Central Banking speaks to the Alliance for Financial Inclusion on the importance of good data
BoE wartime minutes show sharp contrast between Court of then and now
Minutes from 1914-1946 show an evolving Court of Directors, but one radically different from today; the latest release covers both World Wars and the Great Depression
G-20 Brisbane Summit: What to look for
Leaders of the G-20 countries meet this weekend to try to thrash out a deal on financial stability, growth and employment; Central Banking looks at some of the main issues on the table
Banque de France ‘significantly’ improves research output
External review of central bank research finds ‘significant rise in quantity and quality’ in past six years; suggests improvements in communication with policy-makers
Global financial system's future hinges on China's willingness to accept emerging India
India's emergence - and China's willingness to tolerate it - will be ‘test of survival' for the global financial system in the coming years, argues Deutsche Bank report
Rajan urges ‘direct cash transfers' to poor people
RBI governor says transfer system would give the poor ‘choice and respect' and break the links between poor public service, patronage and corruption
Bank of Lithuania joins with country's oldest university to set up research centre
Collaboration aims at promoting ‘practical application' of scholarly undertakings; Bank chair notes criticism that Lithuanian economics is ‘detached from reality'
US Congress fails to sign off on IMF reforms
Sweeping modernisation package put together by G-20 in 2010 stopped in its tracks as House of Representatives declines to double quota increase and thus ratify changes to fund's governing structure
Chinese liberalisation could be ‘force for global stability', says BoE economist
Article in Bank of England quarterly bulletin says a more open capital account in China could be a force for growth and financial stability at home and abroad
HKMA’s Yue calls for offshore RMB co-operation
Deputy chief executive Eddie Yue says Hong Kong and the United Kingdom need not compete for a slice of the global offshore renminbi market – they can ‘grow the pie together’
G-20 inflation measure paves way for co-ordinating policy
New statistic aims to fill ‘data gap' identified in wake of the global financial crisis; follows growing calls for globally coordinated monetary policy as countries fret over effects of QE
HKMA’s Yue focuses on renminbi as China liberalises capital markets
Deputy chief executive Eddie Yue believes the renminbi will be ‘crucial’ in managing impact of China’s capital account liberalisation on global markets; hosts forum with UK government official
Nalm Asia 2013: Central banks should to look to ‘complexity science' to model economic systems
Central banks need to rethink their approaches to modelling financial markets if they want to deploy better predictive models in the future, according to speakers at Nalm Asia 2013
Hungary revamps inflation report
National Bank of Hungary says enhancements will improve efficiency of monetary policy communications
SF Fed plays down role of structural unemployment
San Francisco Federal Reserve note supports view that monetary policy can address high US unemployment
Abandon theory, Sheng urges central bankers
Andrew Sheng says current generation of central bankers became so enamoured with models they missed bigger picture; says there will be a great need for discretion, not rules, in future
ADB launches landmark renminbi bond in Hong Kong
Asian Development Bank launches ground-breaking international renminbi bond in Hong Kong; Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Peter Pang hails likely effects on renminbi trade, settlement
Irish bonds sixth riskiest: report
Credit default swap spreads on Irish bonds spike more than any other in third quarter; Portugal also among ten riskiest sovereign issuers
Rajan, Krugman renew spat
Ex-IMF chief economist Raghuram Rajan and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman revive clash over central banks' role in the crisis
Estonia upgraded on euro accession; Ireland knocked down on banks’ weakness
Fitch lifts Estonian credit rating two notches, citing benefits of eurozone membership and strong fiscal performance; Moody’s downgrades Ireland on poor growth projections, worries over bad bank
East Asian, Pacific governors set for 15th annual meeting
Executives’ Meeting of East Asia and Pacific Central Banks gears up for 15th outing in Sydney; regional currency and financial stability issues to dominate agenda