Opinion/Central Banks

Who wants to be a trillionaire?

According to this article from The Economist, published Thursday 26 October, China's foreign-exchange reserves are likely to top $1 trillion as October ends, but what to do with the money poses many problems.

Plundering China's reserves

According to this article published Friday 27 October by The Wall Street Journal, with China's foreign-exchange reserves now close to the trillion dollar mark, calls to spend the money are coming fast and furious.

Fed's Lacker - rebel without a pause

This article published Wednesday 25 October notes that Richmond Fed president Jeffrey Lacker has become the first Federal Reserve policy-maker in eight years to dissent from his colleagues for three consecutive meetings.

Where did market volatility go?

In this editorial, published Thursday 5 October by The Korea Herald, former IMF chief economist Kenneth Rogoff says an uneerie calm has engulfed virtually every major asset class, from stocks to bonds.

ECB not hamstrung by consensus decisions

According to this article published on Tuesday 3 October by Reuters, new information that the European Central Bank's Governing Council holds informal votes suggests it is not as clumsy and slow as some believed.

A case for inflation targets in the US and Japan

This article published by the American Enterprise Institute on Wednesday 27 September says that the world's leading central banks are struggling with what is happening to prices in their respective countries, and what they should do and say about it.

Deputy must be RBA man

According to this article published on the news.com.au website on Thursday 21 September, while it is reasonable to do so it is vital the deputy comes from within the central bank.

China's mushrooming forex reserve

This article published by Asia Times Online on Tuesday 19 September says that although massive levels of foreign exchange reserves represent the strength of an economy, it brings more problems than benefits.

Managing China's forex reserves

This article from The Star Online, published Friday 4 August, looks at the appropriate level for China's increasing foreign exchange reserves which will soon hit the US$1 trillion mark.

Comment: BoE brightens silly season slumber

The Bank of England surprised practically everyone on 3 August by raising rates by 25 basis points. The Bank's next Inflation Report, to be released on 9 August, and the minutes from the August meeting will make intriguing reading. The move will also the…

Comment: Has Trichet's gambit paid off?

The ECB heads into this week's monetary policy meeting with markets fully expecting a 25 basis point hike. Has the decision to have an unscheduled meeting, which effectively pre-announced the decision, changed the prospects for the course of eurozone…

Comment: Transparency in EU bond markets

As a rule, transparency in government activities, in regulation and in financial markets is encouraged and regarded as a positive thing. But when it comes to the way governments sell bonds, the authors of a recent study suggest that increasing…

Comment: RBI sounds warning call

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised interest rates by 25 basis points on 25 July. The central bank warned that the higher oil prices were having a "permanent" effect. Rapid credit growth and rising risk-premia were also top of the list of concerns…

Comment: Central bank governance

Seigniorage revenues have become more important to central banks as many of these institutions are feeling the squeeze financially. How these revenues are spent depend critically on sound governance structures and independence. These are the conclusions…

Comment: Noyer takes Kroes to task

The Bank of France governor, Christian Noyer, said on 18 July that the European Commission is "playing a very dangerous game" in attempting to break open the European credit card market. How legitimate are his concerns?

Comment: Bernanke focuses on risks

In his remarks following the delivery of the Fed's semi-annual monetary policy to Congress, Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, adopted an approach very much in keeping with his predecessor, Alan Greenspan. What does this mean for the Fed's inflation targeting…

Comment: Rethinking financial stability reporting

The Bank of England recently unveiled its revamped Financial Stability Report. Starting with the title of the publication, the Bank has taken a new approach to both the presentation of report and its content. The changes are an effort to focus the report…

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