Central Banks
Fed’s Raskin assesses impact of inequality on monetary policy
Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin says inequality in US could affect transmission of monetary policy to real economy; predicts ‘increasingly potent’ policy as house prices rise
G-20 unconcerned about Japanese monetary easing
Meeting of G-20 finance ministers spent ‘much less time’ discussing currency moves than at their last meeting; warns US and others to watch for bubbles
Emerging markets demand greater say in IMF affairs
G-24 group of emerging markets and developing countries urges IMF members to accept reforms to voting shares, pointing to 'serious flaws' in current formula
BoE lending figures add credence to FLS scepticism
Business lending continues to contract in the UK, but pressure still mounts on the ECB to take steps to address eurozone recession
Thai central bank and government divided over rates
Bank of Thailand has resisted cutting rates in 2013 in the face of a strongly appreciating baht; IMF director says currency reflects the country and region's rebalancing
RBI’s Subbarao weighs merits of new consensus on capital controls
Duvvuri Subbarao says financial crisis shattered consensus view that capital controls should not be used, but deploying them correctly is still far from straightforward
People: Iceland deputy handed second term; IMF appoints new statistics head
Arnór Sighvatsson gets second and final term at Central Bank of Iceland; Canadian ‘chief statistician' makes DC switch to head IMF stats office
Bolivian hyperinflation re-modelled using ‘Bayesian approach'
Paper from Latin American monetary studies centre takes new approach to modelling short-lived episodes of hyperinflation
Norges Bank governor backs plans for counter-cyclical capital buffer
Øystein Olsen gives support to proposals by the Norwegian government to introduce a counter-cyclical capital buffer; will be set by ministry of finance with advice from the Norges Bank
Netherlands Bank highlights ‘major risk’ of European crisis escalating
Financial stability report says danger from European debt crisis still looms large; warns of longer-term risks including addiction to low interest rates and incomplete banking union
Robert Pringle's Viewpoint: King’s efforts to be heard hit some marks
In his calls for reform, Bank of England governor Mervyn King has ploughed a lonely furrow. But some of his efforts are paying off
National Bank of Poland updates 18-year-old banknote security
Security features of Polish banknotes to be overhauled in 2014; central bank keeping tight-lipped on the upgrades
Kocherlakota warns of consequences of ‘mandate-consistent' lower rates
Minneapolis Fed president highlights risks accompanying persistent low rates, but argues rates must go lower still to be consistent with dual mandate
Lagarde says ECB has ‘room to manoeuvre' on rates
IMF managing director says it up to ECB when to cut rates but calls for co-ordinated policies worldwide to shift ‘from three-speed to full speed' global recovery
FSB and IMF ‘animosity’ claim rejected
Think-tank report blasts lack of co-ordination between organisations in early warning exercise; FSB secretariat member rebuffs claims, and brands exercises a success
BoJ's Miyao sees weaker yen as key to ending deflation
Leading proponent of monetary easing highlights a change in the dollar-yen exchange rate as key to hitting Bank of Japan's 2% inflation target
CPSS and Iosco start assessing compliance with FMI principles
Organisations begin process of monitoring ‘full, timely and consistent’ implementation of Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures across jurisdictions
Czech bulletin dissects monetary policy transmission
An economic research bulletin compiled by the Czech National Bank explores relationship between monetary policy and real economy in five articles
Asia faces increasingly complex risk, says MAS assistant managing director
Ng Nam Sin says insurers face both growing opportunities and increasingly large, complex and interconnected risks; Asean committee will help promote co-operation
SNB research finds Swiss franc is only safe haven against some currencies
Paper suggests Swiss franc is a safe haven from euro but not from other major reserve currencies; says this may be down to small size of market
Leap in renminbi trade strains PBoC exchange controls
Latest financial statistics show continued rapid rise in renminbi trade; PBoC deputy says exchange rate band may be widened again
RBI executive director discusses challenges in sustainable housing finance
Deepak Mohanty examines how best to extend housing finance in India, against the backdrop of multiple financial crises caused by unsustainable mortgage growth
King says independence is a tricky course to steer
BoE governor says central banks are expected to be partially, fully and non-independent in different parts of mandate, which is almost impossible; outvoted again at latest MPC meet