Central Banks
Australia’s Debelle applauds ECB action
Assistant governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia says European Central Bank three-year liquidity operation has helped to improve crisis situation
Israel releases latest economic update
Inflation over whole of 2011 was 2.2%; country reached vicinity of full employment in the first half of last year
Fed’s Plosser warns against ‘accelerationist’ policy
President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia says approach that calls for monetary policy to do more to get to objectives faster must be avoided
IMF paper explores importance of systemic emerging markets
Research paper finds differing results for impacts of trading partners' growth on low-income countries that are predominantly commodity exporters and those that are not
Moody’s alters sovereign debt ratings of nine EU countries
Austria, France and the UK see outlooks on Aaa ratings changed to negative; Spain and five other countries’ ratings are downgraded
BoE’s King explains continuing high inflation
Mervyn King writes to chancellor of the exchequer explaining why inflation remains above target; despite 0.6% drop in rate since December, governor must offer reasons for missed target
Japan 'clarifies' monetary policy stance amid criticism
Bank of Japan again increases size of asset purchase programme and sets an inflation target; follows political pressure that Japan is sending the message deflation is acceptable
Wright secures top secretariat job at Iosco
European Commission veteran David Wright is leaving academia to become the new secretary general of the International Organization of Securities Commissions
Boston Fed investigates effects of credit scores on payment choice
Discussion paper finds evidence to back anecdotes that debit card use is negatively impacted by poor credit scores
Riksbank submits proposal to transfer allocation of profit to Treasury
Swedish central bank plans to transfer Skr7.5 billion to Treasury; full plan to be revealed at end of March
UK banks miss 'Project Merlin' lending targets
Results of 'Project Merlin' show bank net lending fell in 2011; major banks missed targets for lending to smaller businesses
Japanese public offers opinions on economic conditions
Bank of Japan publishes results from most recent public opinion survey; many expect to see economic conditions worsen in next 12 months
Central Bank of Ireland reveals enforcement priorities
Irish central bank tells financial service providers what it will focus on in terms of enforcement actions in 2011; warns reactive enforcement will also occur outside of set priorities
Kuwaiti governor resigns after 25 years as chief
Sheikh Salem AbdulAziz Al-Sabah resigns after a quarter of a century as governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait; reports point to political tensions as cause
Solomon Islands warns of counterfeits and announces new coins
Solomon Islands public warned about counterfeit banknotes in circulation; central bank also announces new coins to be issued
New South African banknotes will portray image of Mandela
First democratically elected president of South Africa honoured in currency redesign; new notes expected by the end of 2012