Central Banks
Despite Ireland’s bailout, the eurozone’s problems remain
Ireland’s bailout merely delays the day of reckoning for the euro project, Geoffrey Wood argues
Bernanke: QE2 a misleading moniker
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke says $600 billion Treasury purchase scheme not officially quantitative easing
BoJ: liquidity strains alter investor behaviour
Bank of Japan study shows investors sell or buy a liquid asset more quickly in distressed environments
Sarb’s Mminele on payment system reform
South African Reserve Bank deputy governor Daniel Mminele says international payment system should receive special attention
HKMA, PBoC react to QE2
Hong Kong Monetary Authority and People’s Bank of China counter Fed’s quantitative easing programme with regulatory and monetary policy measures
Plosser: focus on real, not nominal, rates
Philadelphia Federal Reserve president Charles Plosser suggests targeting interest rates to lean against strong asset-price growth
ECB approves Target2-Securities baseline price
European Central Bank’s Governing Council agrees to fix the transaction cost for Target2-Securities at 15 cents per transaction but attaches conditions
Irish woes may spread to other PIIGS
European Union action on Ireland’s bank debts points to fears over contagion spreading across peripheral Europe
BoJ’s Noda: Japanese growth moderating
Bank of Japan policy board member Tadao Noda says Japan’s economy expected to moderate following weakness in exports
Italy’s Enria voices concern over regualtory arbitrage from Basel III
Bank of Italy head of the supervisory regulations and policies Andrea Enria says rigourous introduction of Basel across all countries and financial sectors will reduce risk of regulatory arbitrage
RBA’s Battellino: US households worst off from recession
Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Ric Battellino says US households share greater burden with every recession
Gjedrem on the Norges Bank’s history
Norges Bank governor Svein Gjedrem discusses transition of Norges Bank from government advisor to fully fledged central bank
Buba’s Böhmler: ongoing education vital to central banks
Bundesbank executive board member Rudolf Böhmler says education will keep staff up-to-date on advances in finance
Honohan expects IMF loan for Ireland
Central Bank of Ireland governor Patrick Honohan says his expectation is that IMF loan will be made available, likely to come to “tens of billions”
Posen: we can’t call bubbles
Bank of England external rate-setter Adam Posen cites empirical evidence showing difficulty in distinguishing asset-price booms from busts
Large pension funds a threat to financial stability – European Commission
European Commission says pension funds should also be classed as “too big to fail”
Hungary voices concerns over banking climate
National Bank of Hungary warns new government tax and appreciation of the Swiss franc will severely impair bank lending and its contribution to economic growth
Sarb makes fresh bid to revive output
South Africa Reserve Bank cuts rates by 50 basis points in bid to boost output; analyst says policy subscribed will have little impact on supply side
ECB’s Stark: central bank’s more likely to react to asset-price growth
European Central Bank executive board member Jürgen Stark says central banks more likely to lean against against asset prices in future