Opinion/Monetary Policy
Rethinking on monetary policy
The world over, central banks are undergoing an open evaluation of their past policies, this article in the Fiunancial Express, India, says. It looks at current policies of the world's major central banks and their views on asset price bubbles.
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…
Goodbye, yellow brick road
An article in the Financial Times places Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in the world of the Wizard of Oz. For the time being, it says, the Fed's goal is to ward off deflation; if that means straying from the Yellow Brick Road of policy orthodoxy…
Monday Special Feature - Central Bankers Abroad
It is that time of year when many central bankers jet off on holiday. But where do they go, and what do they get up to? CentralBankNet has done a bit of asking around - and got some varied responses.
Kenneth Rogoff - Escape from global deflation
In an article published in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Kenneth Rogoff of the IMF said the odds of global deflation are not high, but if it were to set in, the world's central banks have the tools needed to address the problem. The path out, however, is…
'Wrong, Mister' - Greenspan under fire at Congress
Transcript of Rep. Sanders' question-and-answer period with Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan during the Financial Services hearing on 15 July. Congressman Sanders said in his statement "I think you just don't know what's going on in the real world…
China should not rush to float its currency
Alan Greenspan's recent comment that China should float its currency and dump the dollar peg is not sound advice, this article in the Financial Times says. The abandonment of the dollar peg would open a Pandora's box in China and could leave the world…
Central Europe and the euro - patience needed
This article from the Economist reflects on the cautious note the Bundesbank recently sounded on EU accession countries haste to enter the euro. Several central banks including Hungary and the Czech Republic have urged caution from their governments not…
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…
Interview- National Bank of Serbia's Kori Udovicki
In an interview with the Financial Times. the newly appointed governor of the National Bank of Serbia, Kori Udovicki, said she would resist pressure from the government, if it came, to invest the central bank's foreign exchange reserves. She intends to…
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…
Serbia's central bank governor braves crossfire
In an interview with the Financial Times at the weekend Kori Udovicki, the recently appointed governor of the Serbian national bank pledged to carry on former governor Mladjan Dinkic's "strict monetary policy" and "just as strict, if not stricter,…
Europe cashes in on its forgotten money
European governments are rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of a windfall of up to €13 billion from their forgotten national currencies, CentralBankNet discovers in this week's Monday Special Feature. This is the amount of lire, guilder,…
Interview with Chicago Fed chief Michael Moskow
The U.S. economy is poised to pick up speed in the second half of the year and into 2004, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Michael Moskow said late Friday 25 July in an interview with YSA Today. Moskow says the threat of deflation is 'very…
Paul Krugman on Greenspan 'Dropping the Bonds'
Paul Krugman used to be a great admirer of Mr. Greenspan, he writes in his New York Times column. "But something has gone very wrong with the maestro", he suggests. He notes Greenspan's optimism in recent testimony that tax cuts and low interest rates…
Japan should help guide yuan revaluation policy
This article in the Asahi Shimbun looks at the drive for revaluation of China's yuan, saying it first began in Japan where cheap imports from China are blamed for making domestic deflation worse. Japan needs an effective diplomatic strategy to influence…
Interview with IMF Managing Director Horst Kohler
In an interview on "We Should Not Lose More Time" with Germany's manager magazin, IMF MD Horst Kohler talks about ways out of the world economy crisis. He is also asked if the Americans and the Japanese might be trying to solve their problems by…
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…
Greenspan proves fallible
An article in American Outlook Today, "Greenspan proves fallible", describes the pedestal upon which Alan Greenspan has been perched as "a bit shaky" saying he disappointed the expectations of the bond market with the FOMC's with only a quarter point…
ECB stung by supreme court decision
The European Court of Justice has given the ECB a legal bloody nose in a case concerning how to combat fraud. In this weeks Special Feature CentralBankNet analyses the implications of the ECB's courtroom defeat.
Greenspan: Risking it all for a legacy?
A State Street Investment Letter suggests that US inflation expectations are unambiguously on an upward trend and are being put at risk to preserve Alan Greenspan's legacy. It is with some irony, it says, that the next Federal Reserve Chairman is likely…
South African central banker defies ex-comrades
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Tito Mboweni of the South African Reserve Bank said markets have begun to price in a fairly successful South African story. He claims not to be an ambitious person, but at only 44 still have a lot to do in life,…
The Fed's delicate balancing act
This article published in the FT looks at Alan Greenspan's half-yearly testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday. On the whole, it says, he succeeded in clarifying his goals.
Monday Special - ECB and the retail payments mire
SPECIAL FEATURE - The European Central Bank (ECB) is preparing to intervene in the market for small bank transfers in the eurozone, unless banks move quickly to make euro transfers quicker, cheaper and less bureaucratic. For this weeks Special Feature…