Opinion/Monetary Policy
Changing the guard on the Bank of England's MPC
FEATURE - The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is about to embark on its most radical shake-up since it was set up five years ago. Five of its nine members - including the Governor and his two deputies - will either be replaced or have their…
Thin skin - Don't mess with Buba
FEATURE - The upcoming German elections appear to have put German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in a foul and vindictive mood. Some months ago, there was the chancellor's surprisingly undiplomatic "How Dare You" response to Brussels' warning that Germany…
Bank's inner circle and its Outer Mongolia
FEATURE - The Bank of England is the City's Kremlin. From time to time figures appear on the balcony above its windowless walls, and the watchers must try to calculate whose stock is up and who has been posted to Outer Mongolia. There is no doubt that…
Greenspan's heir apparent stays cryptic
FEATURE - Judging by his refusal to provide a direct answer to a straightforward question, John Taylor is on track to become the next chairman of the US Federal Reserve writes Stephen Romei in The Australian on Monday.
Wim's wait
FEATURE - The European Central Bank is extending its "wait and see" policy from interest rates to the equally delicate matter of high-level appointments, reported Friday's FT in London.
IRAQ - Monetary analysis
IRAQ - The Central Bank of Iraq operates directly under the instruction of the government. As its activities are rather opaque, any analysis of policy is somewhat speculative, reports Quest Economics Database 27 March.
The recession that almost was
FEATURE - It is easy to dismiss the recent global downturn as a false alarm but policymakers should learn from it, says Kenneth Rogoff in Friday's Financial Times.
Expansion of Japanese broad money supply
LETTER - In a letter published in Thursday's Financial Times a chief economist explains how the Japanese money supply is increasing through commercial banks buying of government debt as a result of low demand for loans.
Keep floating, stop worrying
FEATURE - The real case for an independent pound has nothing to do with ultra-nationalism or hostility to Europe writes Samuel Brittan in Thursday's Financial Times. He suggests the British government allow use of the euro as a parallel currency and…
Central bank still basking in Communism
FEATURE - In Russia, "independence" is usually understood as the right to act with impunity and "control" as state intervention. These peculiarities of our national perception of reality were fully in evidence during the recent skirmish over the…
Pakistan work to establish modern financial system
FEATURE - As Afghanistan rebuilds, industrialized nations around the world are paying close attention to attempts by neighboring Pakistan to modernize its financial system, reports Nikkei Weekly.
Russia's new central banker in TV interview
FEATURE - Bank deposits in Russia should be at least partially guaranteed by the state. In return, the banks should submit to tighter supervision and higher standards, which will increase public confidence in Russia's banks, the new chairman of Russia's…
The long and short of it for central banks
FEATURE - Never mind the question about when and how far they should follow the US FOMC. Asian central banks have their hands full at the long end of the curve at the moment.
The increasingly transparent Greenspan fed
FEATURE - Tuesday's decision by the Federal Open Market Committee that it would announce the roll call of the vote on the federal funds rate target, including the policy choice of any dissenters after each meeting, was the latest veil in its legendary…
Russia's new central bank chief
FEATURE - Promising little change to exchange-rate policy but progress on stalled banking change, Sergei Ignatyev was overwhelmingly elected Russia's Central Bank chief Wednesday by the lower house of parliament.
Saga of the convicted central bank governor
FEATURE - Bank Indonesia, which until early February still rejected Bank Bali claims as ineligible, suddenly reversed its policy. Erman Munzir, director of the banking development division at the central bank, at Pande's request, assigned a special team…
Central banker wins raves for straight talk
FEATURE - One year, a recessionette and 10 interest rate cuts later, and David Dodge, the governor of the Bank of Canada, has probably said more about the Canadian economy - and more candidly - than his predecessor did in two years.
Regulators and the gentle art of persuasion
LETTER - A letter published in the London edition of the Financial Times on Friday.
History shows East Europe pitfalls on way to euro
FEATURE - Investors are already betting Eastern Europe's road to the euro will be remarkably short, but the history of European monetary union shows just how many hairpin bends and potholes still litter the way.
The road to the euro for Eastern Europe
FEATURE - Eastern European states are not only on course to join the European Union but will also join the European single currency in the years to come says a report by Reuters.
Single currency outsiders united in sport
LETTER - A letter published in Monday's Financial Times suggests that the forthcoming football world cup has important implications for membership of the euro.
A very big shoe to fill - A successor to Greenspan
FEATURE - The Economist magazine, 9 March, reports on the search to replace the chairman of the US Federal Reserve - Time to groom an heir for Alan Greenspan.
Why Greenspan allowed irrational exuberance
FEATURE - Why Greenspan allowed irrational exuberance - The Federal Reserve's past reluctance to crack down on a runaway bull market raises questions about its remit.
Alan Greenspan's stock on the rise
FEATURE - Is Alan Greenspan a monetary genius with unique insight into the US economy? Or is he a central banker with a taste for obscure diction and data who nonetheless follows a simple rule?