Opinion/Central Banks
Brendan Brown on life after death for the Emu
Brendan Brown puts forward a proposal for how a functioning monetary union in Europe could operate if the current system was to fail
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: Central bank macro-prudential powers are no panacea
Central banks will take on substantial new macro-prudential supervisory powers in the years ahead. But this is a dangerous experiment, and a step in the wrong direction
The Fed’s flawed PCE inflation targeting regime
The Fed’s move to adopt inflation targeting (IT) was long expected. But economists Peter Warburton and Joanna Davies say the US central bank will be targeting inflation on its own terms
Robert Pringle's Viewpoint: Policy-makers in thrall to group thinking
Philipp Hildebrand’s resignation has renewed fears about market practitioners working in central banks. But FOMC minutes from 2006 reveal a deeper problem – placing too much reliance on economists
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: What future for European banking?
Policymakers urgently need to form a clear, strategic position on the future of banking in Europe as well as a roadmap on how to get there. This may require the nationalisation of major European banks
The dangerous scramble for liquidity
William Allen of the Cass Business School in London warns there is a danger that capital requirement measures intended to make the financial system safer may do more harm than good
Europe should learn from US mistakes
Former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Company William Isaac warns Europe to heed the lessons from TARP and catastrophic public stress tests
Sensible ideas from Vickers – but are they too late?
As the banking industry sits on the brink of another crisis, Robert Pringle asks, has the ICB report come too late?
Could the Swiss start a trend?
Robert Pringle discusses the Swiss National Bank's action to limit the exchange rate between the franc and the euro, and asks if others should, and will, follow
Three strikes and you’re out
Standard and Poor’s downgrade of US debt is just one of a handful of errors made by credit rating agencies, writes Robert Aliber
Towards a global monetary policy
US monetary policy must change as the dollar’s dominance wanes, writes Allan H. Meltzer.
The new environment facing sovereign investors
Post-crisis, SWFs meet with less official resistance to investment, but markets are trickier and stakeholders no less demanding, writes Donghyun Park
Frank’s FOMC attack offers further evidence of the politicisation of Fed policy
Attempts to rescind regional Fed presidents’ voting rights as members of the Federal Open Market Committee manifest an unfortunate trend in US monetary policy, Thomas F. Cargill believes.
When the price is wrong
Determining how best to step in when markets struggle to price assets fairly remains a key unanswered question from the crisis
The folly of foreign exchange intervention
The G-7’s bid to stem the yen’s appreciation threatens to damage Japan’s economy, Geoffrey Wood believes
Déjà vu and monetary policy: Lockhart’s recent comments
A lack of consideration for price pressures signals that Fed officials continue to misconstrue the nature of central bank independence, Thomas Cargill writes
It is the supervision of the banks, not their structure, that is most important
A separation between retail and investment banking would in itself do nothing to correct bad management practices and would quite possibly fail in its aim to protect the public purse, Roger Alford argues.
An overemphasis on risk models was the key flaw in the regulatory architecture
Risk models are useful for banks’ risk managers, but regulators should beware, Brandon Davies notes
China's growth and the yuan's status are not inextricably linked
China’s growing economic might has led to claims that the yuan will take its place among the reserve currencies. But, as Gary Smith argues, the link between GDP and reserve status is far from causal