International
Book notes: The political economy of the special relationship, by Jeremy Green
Unsatisfactory story about the decline and resurgence of the UK’s importance in the global financial system
Bank of Lithuania paper explores spillovers of US policy uncertainty
Authors find “significant recessionary and deflationary effect” and synchronous response worldwide
Fed’s dollar swap lines and ‘Fima’ facility to run nine more months
FOMC keeps main policy tools on hold, but shifts guidance on asset purchases
US brands Switzerland a ‘currency manipulator’
Treasury also accuses Vietnam of manipulating exchange rate to gain “unfair competitive advantage”
Monetary unions in the making in Africa
EAC, Ecowas and SADC can adopt practical steps learned from EMU to prepare for their own currency unions
Nordic central banks sign currency swap agreement
Norwegian, Swedish and Danish central banks conclude bilateral swap deals
Argentine peso falls after central bank changes regime
Spread with unofficial exchange rate widens further
The eurozone’s eastern conundrum
Bulgaria and Croatia expect a net positive effect as they take final steps to join the euro, while the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland remain reluctant
Structural changes may increase dollar funding strains – IMF paper
Some emerging markets still face “significant funding pressure”, researchers find
Crises enliven ‘totalitarian temptations’
The coronavirus pandemic will embolden governments and bodies such as the International Monetary Fund to grasp for more power, writes Steve Hanke
Major economies already engaging in ‘currency wars’ – former IMF chief
De Larosière floats new commodity-based exchange rate regime; says “trust” is key to avoiding “beggar-thy-neighbour” policies
Fed cuts rates 100bp as central banks launch joint action
US central bank unveils unprecedented coronavirus response package as global swap lines are bolstered through co-ordinated action
Major central banks ready to respond to coronavirus
Fed, ECB and Bank of Japan say they are willing to act; central bank events disrupted
Higher oil prices dampened impact of Fed spillovers in Gulf – IMF paper
Changes in Fed rates likely to have minimal impact on GCC growth with current oil prices, researchers say
Risk of hitting ZLB in the future reduces inflation today – Fed paper
Policy-makers could use “risk-adjusted policy rule” to offset risk of undershooting, researchers say
BIS’s Borio warns interacting financial cycles destabilise global system
Domestic and global cycles interact and amplify one another, BIS official says
IMF paper tracks Asian authorities’ responses to volatile capital flows
Monetary policy typically responds to several variables in pursuit of greater stability, analysis finds
Fed paper looks at US spillovers to foreign government debt yields
Fed has “economically large” impact on some dollar-denominated bond yields, researchers find
King calls for radical shake-up to escape ‘low-growth trap’
Central bank models fail to appreciate demand-side secular stagnation; IMF could help to drive country-specific policies to reallocate resources
‘Hegemonic digital currency’ could help fix global system – Carney
Using CBDC to facilitate online sales could bring about more rapid change, governor says
Tackling ‘dead-end’ monetary policy
A shift to lower inflation targets would help central banks escape forever-loose monetary policy, writes former IMF chief Jacques de Larosière
EMEs can resist spillovers with prudential policy – BoE paper
Some prudential policies work better than others, researchers find
Expectations and term premia both drive spillovers – BIS paper
Different components have greater impacts in advanced and emerging economies, authors find
Seven threats from big tech’s libra
Can central banks avoid a ‘big tech’ monetary meltdown?