Opinion/Monetary Policy
No, the markets are not in state of hysteria about US inflation
Brendan Brown, the chief economist at Mitsubishi UFJ, asks if fears of prices exploding in the US are as irrational as some suggest
The real exit problem at the Federal Reserve (and ECB and BoE)
Central bankers must abandon their focus on targeting inflation in the medium term if we are to really consign the crisis to history
Key questions for Marcus
Gill Marcus, governor-designate of the South African Reserve Bank, will have her work cut out in maintaining the central bank’s hard-won credibility
Can Sack fill Dudley's shoes?
Brian Sack will takes on a very different job from that of his predecessors at the NY Fed writes Claire Jones
Fed will shun Mishkin's call for explicit goal
Despite Frederic Mishkin's rigorous advocation, much stands in the way of the departing governor's wish for the Fed to adopt an explicit inflation goal. But it may not need to, writes Claire Jones, the editor of Central Bank News.
Fed faces uncertain times and difficult decisions
Stephen Cecchetti, the Rosenberg professor of global finance at the Brandeis International Business School, discusses why the outlook for the United States economy is so hard to call and if the Federal Reserve was right to cut rates.
Banks must be scolded, not helped, by the Fed
Monetary and regulatory policy should be about reinforcing solid conduct in financial markets and punishing bad behaviour. But the recent rate cut from the Fed does little of the sort, says Avinash Persaud, the chairman of Intelligence Capital, a…
Should rate policy note Wall Street's influence?
Reflecting on the Federal Reserve's recent decisions, Stephen Cecchetti, the Rosenberg professor of global finance at the Brandeis International Business School, asks whether it is wise to separate actions to ensure financial stability from those to aid…
What we learn from the Fed's projections
As we look at the first of the Federal Reserve's enhanced economic projections, it is important to understand what they are and what they are not, says Stephen Cecchetti, the Rosenberg Professor of Global Finance at Brandeis International Business School.
The trip to transparency
The Fed's decision to increase the frequency and volume of its economic projections is another welcome step towards transparency under Ben Bernanke's stewardship. But it still has a way to go before catching up to the other major central banks, says…
Mervyn King - a governor in distress
No governor of the Bank of England in living memory - and very few governors of any industrial country - has come in for such an avalanche of media criticism as Mervyn King has suffered in recent days.
Allan Meltzer dismisses calls for Fed action
The following article by Allan H. Meltzer, university professor of political economy at Carnegie Mellon, and a member of Central Banking's editorial board, was published in the Wall Street Journal on September 15. It provides an incisive analysis of the…
Reaction to King's loss of MPC vote
Less of a threat to the governor's credibility and more a sign of what is to come, was the conclusion observers drew from Mervyn King being in the minority at the MPC meeting in June.
It's all down to Bollard to beat NZ's bubble now
According to this article published by The National Business Review on Friday 11 May, politicians have failed to do anything to rein in New Zealand's property boom, leaving it all up to Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard.
Code words not for King, but BoE can improve
According to this article published Thursday 10 May by Reuters, the gloss is starting to come off the Bank of England's reputation for managing interest rate expectations and keeping inflation under control.
FOMC can stick again unless data changes
Without changes in economic data, the Federal Open Market Committee can leave US interest rates alone next month too, and may as well issue the same statement too, says John Berry of Bloomberg in this article published Thursday 10 May.
King and Co should do nothing either
According to this article from Bloomberg published Wednesday 9 May, there are plenty of reasons for the Bank of England to do nothing Thursday.
Bernanke and Co should do nothing
According to this article from John Berry at Bloomberg, published Friday 4 May, Federal Reserve officials will not change interest rates Wednesday amid conflicting evidence about where the US economy is headed.
Bank of England has much to discuss next week
With the Bank of England looking certain to raise UK interest rates next week, this article from Reuters, published Friday 4 May, looks at the main factors the MPC will be discussing.
BoE's inflation-targeting under scrutiny
According to this article from Bloomberg, published Monday 30 April, surging UK property prices are throwing into question the inflation-targeting approach of the Bank of England.
Race to succeed Canada's Dodge underway
According to this article from Bloomberg, published Thursday 26 April, potential successors to David Dodge at the Bank of Canada will include Paul Jenkins and Tiff Macklem as well as some external candidates named in the press.
Mauritius moves monetary policy into modern era
According to this article from the Mauritius Times, published Friday 27 April, the decision by the Bank of Mauritius to set up a Monetary Policy Committee should be welcomed as a move away from the Middle Ages of central banking.